Just a Nightmare
by Goku Girl
Summary: Yaoi. Currently, I can't summarize the entire story it's in three parts, but I have partspecific summaries in the beginning of the first chapters. Parts One & Two are Complete, Incomplete Overall
1. Part 1, Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Insert standard one here.

**Warnings:** Yaoi, violence, death, profanity, angst, alternate universe, lime, sap, maybe fluff and OOC. No lemon, though. I don't write them. Badly written sparring matches, battles, and lime. Just can't do them that well for some reason. There _will_ be a happy ending... eventually. I'm not like those people who kill off everyone and leave them that way.

**Pairings:** Goku x Vegeta, Goten x Trunks

**Ages:** Trunks (20), Goten (19), Bra (8)

**Misc Information:** This fic is in three parts (was just going to be two). First off there's a get-together ficcy (or the extended prologue), then I get into the reason behind the title in part two. Three's the conclusion of two (I consider it the extended epilogue). Since I have a lot of other fics in progress, this might be neglected. If that happens, feel free to encourage me to write again. ^_^

**Shameless Plug:** I need more people to review Age of the Empire on Fanfiction.net. Won't go into all of the reasons, but let's just say that I've entered new territory with it. So far it's general :( but that'll change.

**Distant Dreams Summary:** Feelings of amour have developed within certain Saiya-jin. Vegeta's being harrassed by inner voices, Goku can't get the prince off his mind, Trunks and Goten are equally clueless... Are they all doomed to a life of misery?

* * *

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part I: Distant Dreams)**

**Chapter 1**

The sterile white walls, the antiseptic odor, the mundane sentiment, the quiet sobs... Those would be the things he would always associate with that day, things that he would come to later associate with a different day. Just another part of the memory his mind made when Bulma Briefs died.

The Saiya-jin no Ouji stood silent and even more taciturn than usual against the wall opposite the closed door of the hospital room. He had said nary a word since the doctor announced Bulma's fatal disease yet Goku could see that he did not grieve. The thought curiously didn't puzzle him like he assumed it should -- he'd known for years that Vegeta's love for the ningen woman was a nonexistent thing -- and he felt that he understood the reason why.

Vegeta could never fully come to love anyone that could not accept him for who he was. In fact, if Goku hadn't seen evidence, he would have believed that Vegeta could not love at all.

On the day his oldest friend died, Bulma asked to see him alone. Goku left the others in the hallway, left them to their quiet misery, and took the single chair that sat at Bulma's bedside. She turned her gaunt face towards him and smiled.

"May I ask a favor of you, Son-kun?" she asked weakly, those few words nearly sapping all of her strength.

He moved forward as her voice dropped in volume, tears springing to his eyes. Goku could vividly remember that young girl he'd met so many years ago and how she went vigorously about her task of collecting dragonballs to wish for the perfect boyfriend. The woman that lay before him was the exact opposite of that girl, but she would always remain beautiful and youthful in his eyes.

"Anything, Bulma. Ask anything."

She smiled again and moved one trembling hand forward to pat his cheek. "You were always such a sweetheart." Bulma closed her eyes as a wave of pain passed through her. "Onegai, Son-kun, take care of Vegeta. He needs someone."

Goku sat with her until he felt her ki slip away, not truly thinking about her request until she was gone. His eyes shot open as the full import of her words hit him. Take care of Vegeta? Just how was he supposed to accomplish that? The stubborn ouji wouldn't even look at him without glaring... how in the world was he supposed to _care_ for him?

He went out into hallway, back to the few people who'd gathered. There was Vegeta, of course, Trunks and Bra, ChiChi, Gohan, Goten, and Yamcha. Goku tried to look on the bright side of everything -- at least his friend wasn't in pain anymore --, but his facial expression gave his true emotions away; they always did.

Bra inhaled, a sharp, quick sound, and buried her face into her father's stomach. She was only seven years old and far too young to have to deal with the grief of losing her mother. Trunks remained silent and stoic, staring sightlessly at the door in front of him. His hold on his composure was tenuous at best, shattering into tiny fragments when Goten laid a comforting hand upon his shoulder. The tears slid down his cheeks at a rapid pace, absorbing into the cloth of Goten's shirt as the younger boy embraced him.

That had been a year ago. Since then the surrealistic hospital scene had been played once again; this time at ChiChi's death. It had not been an illness to take the wife of Goku, but a bizarre series of events.

She had been at the grocery store, buying the necessary items needed to restock the pantry at home, when a group of thugs entered the store and began to wreak the place. ChiChi, extremely annoyed that the cashier was halted in the middle of ringing up her purchases, approched the man who was stealing from the register and slapped him violently across the face. The thug blinked at her through his pain for a moment before pulling out a long knife and sliding it between her ribs. The woman went down... but not before kicking her assailant hard in the groin. Her last thought before losing consciousness was that she was going to kick his ass so hard that he wouldn't be able to sit down for weeks.

ChiChi lasted quite some time at the hospital even after she discovered that she'd lost too much blood to survive. She looked hard at the family that surrounded them and said a few last, albeit cryptic, words before passing on. "Don't stay alone, Goku-sa. It's not good for you."

The sound of knocking drew Goku away from depressing memories. He rolled over in his bed and peered at the clock. Oh, it was seven-thirty. Closing his eyes, he was close to allowing himself to drift back to sleep when the time made an impact. His eyes popped open and he blinked at the glowing red numbers. "SEVEN-THIRTY?!"

"Kakarotto, if you don't get your ass up right now...!" Vegeta allowed the threat to trail off into nothingness as he pounded on the front door again.

'_I was supposed to spar with him at six this morning,_' Goku said to himself with a sheepish grin. '_Oops._' He yawned as he rose to go let Vegeta into the house before he broke the door down. The short Saiya-jin stood on his doorstep, the frown on his face turning to something that looked remarkably like a cross between shock and embarrassment.

Vegeta adverted his eyes by focusing on a point somewhere near Goku's left ear. "Don't tell me that you're going to spar like that."

Goku blinked in confusion for a moment before looking down at himself. He realized his state of dress -- or, rather, the lack of it -- and blushed. "I'll go get dressed and we can head out."

"Don't take all day, baka. You're already behind schedule."

He grinned as he went back to his room. "Oh, don't worry, Vegeta. I'm eager to kick your ass again."

There was a moment of shocked silence, then, "What the hell did you say?!" His only response was deep laughter.

Once outside Goku tilted his head back and breathed in the fresh air. It felt very good to be alive at the moment. Today would be the day he bested Vegeta -- there would be no tie. Maybe then the older Saiya-jin would consider him an equal instead of merely a "third-class baka".

Vegeta eyed the larger Saiya-jin with curiosity, wondering what the hell was going on with him. He seemed even happier than usual (if that was possible) and, for some odd reason, that scared him. A happy Kakarotto was a dangerous Kakarotto. "Come on," he said slowly, cautiously watching his opponent. While it was unusual for Goku to use underhanded tactics, Vegeta wanted to be prepared for anything. Especially when the other man was looking like the proverbial cat who'd just eaten the canary.

They flew at a leisurely pace to one of several sparring grounds that had on that side of the world. It was secluded and strongly reminiscent of the desolate land where they fought their very first battle. Goku thought it fitting that it would be the place where Vegeta tasted defeat.

Without warning, Goku launched himself at Vegeta and threw a series of kicks and punches that only tested the defenses of the ouji. Vegeta frowned at this, knowing that his opponent was only playing with him. Before he could open his mouth to demand that Goku get serious, however, the mood of the spar shifted dramatically.

Suddenly Goku no longer toyed with him. For only a moment he lagged behind the younger fighter, but that brief moment cost him plenty. Goku now had the upper hand and he just couldn't take it away from him. Vegeta smirked to himself. He may be on the defensive _now_, but he wouldn't be for very much longer. Quickly hopping away, he powered up to Super Saiya-jin. Goku immediately followed suit.

The spar became greater in intensity as various ki blasts were mixed in with the physical attacks. Two hours passed by and Vegeta was becoming sick with being on the defensive... again. He, once again, moved away to transform, but Goku wouldn't give him the time.

"You will not win!" Goku fairly growled as he continued his powerful onslaught. Vegeta's eyebrows raised in surprise right before he executed one of his signature ki attacks.

"Final Flash!"

As Goku twisted aside to dodge the yellow energy, Vegeta shot far above him into the clouds. Yet even the distraction his move provided wasn't enough as the taller Saiya-jin caught him in a bear hug from behind.

"Yield to me," Goku breathed in Vegeta's ear. The ouji shivered at the sensation even as he cursed himself. He _knew_ that something wasn't right with the other Saiya-jin yet he still consented to spar with him.

Vegeta leaned his head forward so that Goku's breath wasn't tickling him anymore. "Kakarotto, did you hit your head again and rattle what was left of your brain?"

"Iie, Vegeta. Why do you ask?"

"You're acting even weirder than usual." He squirmed and twisted in the other man's grip, suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable. "If you don't let me go right now..."

A moment's silence, then, "You'll do what?" The deep timbre of his voice made chills run up and down Vegeta's spine. It was starting to become too much for the older Saiya-jin and, in his panic, he soared upward to the next level of Super Saiya-jin.

The golden power was almost painful and Goku gritted his teeth as Vegeta renewed his struggle. He saw his dream slowly began to fade away with each twist of the smaller Saiya-jin's body. He wouldn't let it happen. He couldn't! With revived determination, Goku went beyond level two to level three and put a halt to Vegeta's movement.

"You will not win," he repeated slowly and the words finally sank into Vegeta's mind.

After a moment the ouji dropped out of Super Saiya-jin completely with an angry grunt. How dare the third-class baka even _think_ that he would just let him win! He would have to be near death before the thought crossed his mind and even then chances were zero at best.

Goku released him, apparently coming to the conclusion from Vegeta's body language that he'd won the match. Grinning widely, he opened his mouth to suggest that they get a meal when Vegeta suddenly smirked and opened his hand. The next thing Goku felt was a buring pain in his stomach and then he knew only darkness.

***

Vegeta perched on a large rock, hands folded across his chest, as he waited for Goku to regain consciousness. He wondered why he wasn't out celebrating his miraculous, albeit sneaky, defeat of the taller Saiya-jin by consuming mass quantities of alcohol. Instead he was sitting beside Goku and thinking.

His damned conscience refused to let him enjoy his victory. He imagined a little chibi angel of himself perched upon one shoulder worrying him to death much in the way ChiChi had done Goku when she was alive.

_"You really didn't want to hurt him, Vegeta. You know that you didn't. Why couldn't you be a good little Saiya-jin and allow him victory for once? When he wakes up, make sure you apologize."_

_"He doesn't deserve victory or anything else! Kakarotto's nothing more than third-class scum, not even fit to lick my boot."_

Gentle laughter. _"You're lying, Veggie. Remember, I know your innermost desires."_

_"N-nani?"_ Vegeta paled. No, he couldn't know....

_"Of course I can."_

Damn it, he did! Only one course of action in this case. _"I have no idea what you're talking about."_

_"Denial is unhealthy, Veggie. Why can't you admit the truth? You love-"_

His diminishing evil side bared its pointy fangs. A chibi devil Vegeta popped into existence and settled on the opposite shoulder. _"Listen, you pansy, Vegeta has nothing but hatred for that baka. In fact, he will get up right now and put the bastard out of everyone's misery. Won't you, Vegeta?"_

The ouji nodded. "Of course I will," he said aloud. Realizing that he'd done so, he quickly looked around to make sure no one heard him. The area was completely devoid of people other than he and Goku. He hopped from the rock and made his way over to the still form, charging his ki as he did so. Just one blast and it would be over. Only one blast. Vegeta kneeled and placed his glowing hand to Goku's steadily moving chest. No more Kakarotto.

His hand was poised to do its work when Goku stirred and groaned. Vegeta quickly allowed his ki to vanish as he moved backward. When it came down to killing his rival he just couldn't do it.

_"You love Goku and could never do anything to hurt him."_

Vegeta frowned and silently cursed. Damn his conscience.

***

The first thing Goku was aware of was the ache in his stomach. It was similar to the time he ate too many oysters, but not very. This ache was more on the burning side as if his very flesh had been seared away, exposing the naked muscle underneath. At the thought Goku cringed and slowly opened his eyes. He really had no desire to see himself that way.

The next thing to catch his attention was a snapping sound accompanied by a gentle warmth. Why was there a fire going? Did he go camping in the forest? Goku merely listened to the soothing sound for a while until he noticed that he wasn't alone.

Then everything came rushing back to him. He and Vegeta had been sparring and he'd let his guard down. This was why he hurt so much; he lost the match.

Tears welled up in his eyes at the mere thought of Vegeta thinking less of him. Depression settled over him like a heavy wool blanket and he turned over in an attempt to return to the blissful oblivion of slumber.

"Kakarotto."

'_Iie, leave me alone._' Tears made silent tracks down his cheeks. '_I've failed and now you will never let me in._'

"Kakarotto?" Vegeta repeated, but in the form of a question. He wanted to say more but his stubborn pride refused to let him.

"What do you want, Vegeta?" Goku's voice made the ouji wince. Never before had he heard him sound so despondent, even when the odds were against him he'd always held onto hope. Now it seemed that there just wasn't any more hope to be had.

The ouji frowned. "What the hell is wrong with you today? First you act so Saiya-jin during our battle I felt that there was hope for you and now you're acting as if your puppy just died!"

Goku sighed and sat up, the pain in his abdomen forgotten. "Just forget about it."

His words only caused Vegeta to do the exact opposite. Eventually giving up (for the moment anyway), he motioned towards the meat roasting over the small fire he'd made. "Lunch," he said with a grunt.

They ate in complete silence, each immersed in his own thoughts. Vegeta was halfway through his portion of the meal when his little friend decided to make an appearance again.

_"Why won't you let me be?!"_ he asked.

_"I can't do that when I'm _winning_, Veggie,"_ the angel laughed. _"First you remain by his side, then you are unable to kill him, and now you make him lunch!"_

_"There are very good reasons for what I've done. I'm unable to carry Kakarotto home because the baka's just too damn big to do it comfortably, I can't kill him because then I would have no one powerful enough to spar against, and I cook him food because he needs his energy to fight me again."_

The angel was silent for a moment as if seriously considering his words. _"Whatever you say, Veggie. Whatever you say."_

Vegeta could care less if the chibi angel believed him and was seriously starting to question his sanity. It just didn't seem normal for him to talk to the manifestation of the goodness within.

_"What about talking to me? Do you find that odd?"_ The chibi devil moved lazily through the air before him.

_"If the angel's my conscience then what the hell are you?"_

_"I represent the evil side you try to repress. You can never fully rid yourself of me; I will always be here."_ He chuckled evilly. _"You don't indulge yourself anymore, Vegeta. Existence has become quite boring."_

_"Everything is as it should be for you!"_ The angel informed the devil.

He went on as if the words were never spoken._ "Oh sure, your dark side bears it's bloody fangs once in a while when you fight the baka, but that only gives me mild satisfaction. I need blood all day, every day."_

_"Then you'll always be unhappy because you will never again have that,"_ Vegeta said firmly and the chibi angel cheered. _"I may not be the saint that Kakarotto is, but I am also no longer the murderer I used to be. I never want my children to know that side of me."_

_"You've gone soft, Vegeta. We used to have so much fun together! Allow me freedom for just one day and I promise that you won't regret it."_

_"What part of "iie" don't you understand?"_ Vegeta was tired of arguing. _"Look, just leave me alone, okay? I'm tired of talking to you."_

_"Fine,"_ the devil pouted as he vanished.

The angel grinned at Vegeta. _"Ah, it's good that's he finally gone."_

_"I meant you too."_

_"But why? I'm the good guy remember!"_ Vegeta's hard expression didn't waver and the chibi angel eventually disappeared as well.

Goku sat across the fire staring at the ouji's face. It went through a myriad of expressions ranging from annoyance to downright murderous. What was going through his mind? "You look like Piccolo does when he's speaking to Kami and Nail."

Vegeta blinked. "Nani?"

"The expressions on your face. When the other two Namek-jin give Piccolo unwanted advice, his face goes through pretty much the same expressions that yours did."

He'd completely forgotten that Goku had been sitting across from him as the conversation with the chibis wore on. What did the younger Saiya-jin think of him? Did he wonder if he'd lost his mind?

"Oh really?" Vegeta asked casually as he finished his meal. "Imagine that."

A few minutes later, Vegeta was ready to do something.... anything! Goku hadn't moved or spoken in such a long time, Vegeta would have thought he was dead if not for the ki signature he felt. The silence was starting to drive him insane (It had never done that to him in the past. The ouji personally blamed Bulma and his kids for changing him.), so he questioned his companion in a tactful way.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Okay, so maybe it was in a not-so-tactful way. Didn't matter in the end, though, as long as it got the job done.

Goku looked at him with dull, lifeless eyes. "I would think that you didn't care."

"I asked you, didn't I?" Okay, he was starting to unnerve him just a little bit. "Look Kakarotto, you're not your usual happy-go-lucky self. If it has anything to do with my attack I, um..." Goku merely waited in depressed silence. "I apologize."

_"See, Veggie? It wasn't very hard to do at all!"_

"Will you shut up and leave me the fuck alone?!"

"Fine, Vegeta, I will." Goku rose and turned away. "See you whenever." Before Vegeta could even blink, the other Saiya-jin took to the air and flew off toward his home.

"Of all the dumbass things to do..." Vegeta muttered as he doused the fire. "Now I have to go after him!"

_"Good to see you've finally realized that."_

"You shut up. This is all _your_ damn fault!"


	2. Part 1, Chapter 2

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part I: Distant Dreams)**

**Chapter 2**

Goku began to uncharacteristically mope, once he reached his home, and was helpless to stop himself from doing so. All he could see was his dream fading from sight as time wore on. He supposed it had been unrealistic anyway, so it was good to move on to things within his reach. Right?

"If it's so right," he whispered, "why does it feel so wrong?"

The front door opened and Goten entered the house. "Tousan? You here?" His words were met with silence. Shrugging, he dropped his overnight bag beside the door and wandered off to the kitchen. He'd started on his way home from spending the night with Trunks at Capsule Corporation before he'd eaten lunch. The boy froze in the doorway and stared at his father (whose head was down upon the table) in shock.

"Tousan?" Goten asked, placing a hesitant hand upon Goku's shoulder. There were few things that could take away the ever-present sunshine in his father's demeanor. "Are you thinking about "it" again?"

"It" was his mother's death. Goten couldn't bring himself to say the two dreaded words aloud. He knew that his father loved her very much -- although it was more sisterly than anything else -- and it usually upset him to think about the accident. When Goku raised his head to look at him Goten knew that it was bigger than that somehow. It was as if the very light had gone out in his father's soul.

"I'm thinking about it _now_," Goku answered with a sigh. "But iie, son, I wasn't before."

Goten opened his mouth to say something more when the phone rang. Casting another worried look in his father's direction, he answered the call. "Moshi moshi."

"Give Kakarotto the phone, boy."

He blinked. "Nani? Is that you, Vegeta-san?"

"I need to speak with him."

"Okay, sure." He covered up the mouthpiece. "Tou-"

Goku shook his head and, once again, dropped it to the tabletop. "I don't have anything to say to him."

Goten frowned. "Vegeta-san, did you and tousan have a fight or something?"

"When _don't_ we have a fight?"

"I meant other than a sparring match."

"I know that, you baka! Look, it's none of your concern. Just tell your father to remember my words." Vegeta hung up, leaving Goten even more confused than before.

"If you need to talk I'm here," the demi-Saiya-jin said after he'd hung up the phone. For a moment his words were met with only silence, but then his father sighed.

"It all started a few weeks after your mother died." Goten flinched at the words and Goku silently apologized. "I started to really consider both your mother and Bulma's last words, started to think that they were related in some way. Do you know what Bulma asked of me, Goten?"

He shook his head. "No one knows other than you, Tousan, and no one really wanted to ask."

Goku chuckled and it was not a happy sound. "She asked me to look after Vegeta, said that he was going need someone. I've been trying, but he won't let anyone get close enough to help. Not even Bra-chan. It's like he holds us all at arm's length because of some irrational fear."

"Maybe that's why," Goten mused. "A lot of good things in his life _have_ been taken away from him. He might be afraid of that happening again." Suddenly the connection between Bulma and ChiChi's words hit him. "Tousan, I think I know how their words are linked."

"You do? How?"

"First, you have to promise not to get angry no matter what I tell you."

His father rolled his eyes. "When do I _ever_ get angry, Goten?"

He chuckled nervously. "I know, I know, but you aren't acting like yourself. My words might push you over the edge."

"Just tell me."

Goten got up and walked to the other side of the room. He had a feeling that he was being silly, but he hadn't survived this long by being careless. "First, Bulma-san asks you to take care of Vegeta-san and, then, kaasan tells you not to stay alone. Tousan, I think they're telling you to, um..." He looked at his father who still had the patient look on his face. Goten sighed. "Bulma and kaasan both thought that you and Vegeta-san should be a couple."

"A couple of what?" Was the response. Goten looked at Goku as if he'd lost his mind. Surely he couldn't be _that_ clueless.... could he?

"A couple like you and kaasan were." The boy explained. When comprehension failed to dawn, Goten let out a frustrated explosion of breath.

Goku suddenly grinned and laughed, his dark mood lifting slightly. "I know what you're talking about, son. It was just fun to mess with you."

Goten went back to his chair after deciding that his father was far from angry. "So, you're cool about that?"

"Sure, why not? It _would_ explain a lot of things that's been going on lately." His smile faded. "It's like I'm obsessed with proving myself to Vegeta. I never wanted to do that before, but now..." He shook his head and briefly searched for alternate reasons. There weren't any.

Goten gasped. "Are you serious?!"

A nod. "I can't get him off my mind at all. It's been like that for a couple of weeks now."

"Oh man," Goten said as he began to pace the length of the kitchen. "I hope Trunks was wrong. _Please_ let Trunks be wrong for once!"

Goku was starting to get a little dizzy watching him rapidly move back and forth. "Calm down and tell me what you're talking about."

"A while ago, when I was twelve, Trunks told me about something that Vegeta-san had told him." Goten forced himself to sit down and be still. "It's about Saiya-jin and how they choose a lifemate."

One dark eyebrow rose. "I can't really see him having the birds-and-bees talk with his son."

A bright grin. "Imagine him having it with Bra-chan." Both took a moment to do just that and the image made them break out into hysterical laughter. "Anyway," the boy continued once he'd caught his breath, "a Saiya-jin picks a mate by how well suited they are for each other. Since there wasn't such a thing as a marriage ceremony on Vegeta-sei, they go through a bonding ritual instead." He blushed. "It's pretty intense stuff."

"I think I need to know," Goku said quietly. "Vegeta and I... It's like we're two different sides of the same coin."

Goten was starting to see what he meant. His father had a faraway look in his eyes every time he mentioned Vegeta, something he'd never had when speaking of ChiChi. "Okay, Tousan. When someone wants to make someone their mate, they first announce their intentions. Then they prove their worth. That's basically what you're trying to do now. I think it's instinctual. Next, if the one they want to claim doesn't object, they initiate the ritual."

"Hai? Go on?" Goku urged.

There was a moment of silence and then Goten placed one hand behind his head in the typical Son gesture of sheepishness. "Um, my mind is completely blank. Trunks may not have told me about it." He looked disappointed with himself.

His father smiled at him. "Don't worry about it, okay? Until I defeat Vegeta none of it really matters anyway."

"He said to remember his words."

"Huh?"

"Vegeta-san told me to tell you to remember his words." He closely examined the look on his father's face. "What was he talking about?"

Goku sighed. "We were sparring this morning and he hit me with a surprise ki blast. Knocked me out cold. I woke up and he was cooking lunch for us. Then he apologized for hurting me."

Goten's eyes grew large with disbelief. "He _apologized_? I don't believe it."

"It shocked me too, son. Talk about strange behavior."

The phone rang once more and Goten rolled his eyes as he answered it. "Moshi moshi."

"Dinner. Tonight."

"Can't you ever say konnichi-wa or something, first? It's really rude not to greet the person that you're speaking with."

He could hear the disapproval even through the phone line. As a matter of fact, he could even picture the frown on the small Saiya-jin's face. "Boy, do you have a death wish?"

"He sounds fine, Tousan," Goten smiled. "Perfectly fine."

"You and your third-class baka of a father are coming over here for dinner tonight. Don't be late." Once again, the Saiya-jin no Ouji hung up without saying goodbye.

Goten frowned at the receiver. "This can't be a date because I'm invited, too."

"He invited us over there?" Goku asked with wide eyes. "To the Capsule Corporation?"

"Hai. For dinner tonight."

They stared at each other in silence for a long moment. "We must be in the Twilight Zone," Goku said while shaking his head. "I'm going for a walk."

***

When Vegeta arrived home that afternoon, he was immediately pounced upon by Bra. She squeezed him around the waist as hard as she could and refused to let go.

"How come you never take me with you, Papa?" she asked. "I wanna see you fight Goku-san."

"I doubt you could even see majority of it," he commented, hoping that she would drop the subject.

Bra wouldn't give up so easily. "So teach me, then. I bet Pan could follow the fight with no problem."

He couldn't walk normally with Bra wrapped around his lower body so Vegeta was resorted to waddling like a penguin. The little girl giggled and he silently prayed that Trunks never saw him like that. "Kakarotto's been training Gohan's brat since she was a toddler. You've only been taught how to control your ki so that "innocent" ningen wouldn't get blown to bits if you ever became mad at them. It was all your mother would allow me to teach you."

The wound was still fresh but no longer was it raw and bleeding. Bra only felt a moderate amount of sadness at the mention of her mother and no longer felt anger at her father for his lack of grief. Trunks explained to her that he and Bulma were never really that compatible. The girl didn't really understand all of it, but what little she had did make sense.

Vegeta made two phone calls to the Son home, spoke to Goten each time, and cursed himself once again for hurting Goku. He felt his good conscience try to make an appearance again and firmly closed his mind to it. There would be no more speaking with imaginary beings, especially around other people. The last thing he wanted was to be looked upon as an escapee from a mental hospital.

"Niichan told me to tell you that we don't have any food left." She finally released her father. "He said that you have to go shopping."

"_I_ have to go shopping?" he asked incredulously. "He invites Goten over here, knowing that boy has a black hole for a stomach, and expects _me_ to replenish the food supply? I don't think so." Vegeta raised his voice. "Trunks, get your ass down here!"

He came in with a sheepish look on his face. "Bra told you, huh?"

"Of course she told me. You knew she was going to when you said it to her." Vegeta opened the fridge and groaned. There was nothing in there except for half a grapefruit. He then proceeded to go through the cupboards one-by-one, groaning each time he discovered the absence of snack food.

Bra went into the fridge and got the fruit. "Well, I'm hungry and this is all we have left." She glared at her brother. "Not that one little grapefruit half is enough to fill a demi-Saiya-jin!"

"Blame Goten, not me. We had food this morning, remember? Before papa went to spar with Goku-san, he ate breakfast."

"Apparently there went the last of the food right there." The thought of the spar with Goku made him frown even fiercer than usual. "Look, you have to go grocery shopping today. Baka and Baka Jr. are coming over for dinner."

Trunks looked shocked. "You let them invite themselves again?"

"Er, iie," he mumbled. Then he sped up so his words were barely distinguishable. "Iinvitedthemmyself."

"Did I hear you correctly?" Trunks asked. "You invited them _yourself_?!"

Vegeta frowned and began to pace. "I tricked Kakarotto this morning, okay? I'm feeling guilty and that's an unfamiliar feeling for me. So, in order to alleviate my guilt, I'm cooking dinner for him. Had to invite Goten because he's his son." He paused to glance at his children. Both had expressions of disbelief on their faces. "I don't have to explain anything to you!"

"Okay, okay!" Trunks made a 'calm down' gesture with his hands. "Well, I guess I'm going to have to take you with me, Bra. We're going to need two or three shopping carts."

"Try five," his father muttered. "You only have four hours."

"No problem, Papa. We'll be done in half that time."

***

"We're not going to be home in time, are we?" Trunks asked his little sister.

Bra shook her head. "Nope. We're not going to make it."

The store had been having a sale that Trunks completely forgot about. He and Bra had been waiting in the same checkout line for ninety minutes (after spending an hour acquiring various foodstuffs). They had to outdo the ningen shoppers and sometimes even steal food from them. Between the two of them, they'd only obtained three-fourths of the list. There would have to be a trip to another store.

Trunks stood on tip-toe and tried to see over the heads of the tall people while silently cursing his father for passing on his short genes. He gave up doing things the ningen way and levitated slightly. "The cashier has his light blinking. I think he needs help."

"Papa's gonna be mad," Bra sighed. "I wonder if Goku-san and Goten-niichan will try to eat him if they arrive and there's no food."

He looked down at her in shock. "They're not cannibals, Bra-chan. Besides, papa's too small to fill them up."

There was a choked sound behind them and the two demi-Saiya-jin turned to see a middle-aged blonde woman staring at them in horror. "What's wrong?" Bra asked curiously.

"You know people that eat ningen?" the woman asked, eyes wide behind her glasses.

"Oh, don't worry," Bra said reassuringly. "Papa's not ningen. He's Saiya-jin. In fact, _you're_ in more danger than me, Trunks, and papa are."

Trunks covered up her mouth. "Excuse my sister, she's not well... if you know what I mean."

Bra bit his finger and he hissed in pain. "Don't tell people I have mental problems!"

"There's no sense in scaring the woman, Bra! Goku-san and Goten don't eat people!"

"Oh, that's it," she pulled out her cell phone and speed dialed. "Papa, Trunks is being mean to me."

He growled at her and snatched the phone away. "Papa, come get your little demon spawn! She's going around telling people that you're in danger of being eaten by our dinner guests!"

"Where are you?" Vegeta asked in an impatient voice.

"The grocery store."

There was a moment of stunned silence then, "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STILL AT THE GROCERY STORE?!" Trunks jerked the phone away from his ear and cringed.

"Bra-chan? You've got this one."

"Papa, calm down. We still have to go to another store, but we'll be home in plenty of time for you to cook. There's a sale going on and ningen are crazy when it comes to discounts."

She heard him growl. "Fine. Tell your brother that he has forty minutes to bring his slow ass home. Don't mince words."

Bra hung up and smiled sweetly at Trunks. "I have a message for you."

"Oh?" He was less than thrilled.

"Hai." She cleared her throat and impersonated her father. "You have forty minutes to bring your slow ass home."

He shuddered. "I can just hear the "or else" he neglected to tack onto the end of that."

"Since we haven't moved in ten minutes..." Bra hugged him tightly. "I'm gonna miss you, Niichan."

"I'm going to miss you, too, Bra."


	3. Part 1, Chapter 3

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part I: Distant Dreams)**

**Chapter 3**

Goku returned from his walk feeling worse than he had before. Strolling through the forest seemed to make his mind work overtime, and the gloomy scenarios that emerged from the turning gears made the dark cloud of depression even thicker.

Just why did Vegeta feel the need to treat him with so much disdain? Goku had never insulted Vegeta and even respected him a great deal. The ouji was a good ally -- when he wanted to be anyway -- and often an invaluable help in the fight against evil. It was quite ironic when you thought about it, a man who once decimated entire planetary populations helping to thwart evil, but Goku knew that Vegeta had changed for the better... even if the older man himself did not.

He'd begun his walk in high spirits, just enjoying the beauty of the nature around him. The path he'd selected was an old friend and it eventually curved around a lake full of giant fish just waiting to be caught. For half-an-hour he'd sat on the bank of those still waters, trying to clear his mind enough to meditate. Goku thought he'd done it several times only to have Vegeta's familiar figure come to the fore of his thoughts.

If what Goten said was true, then he was subconsciously courting the Saiya-jin no Ouji. For some odd reason that didn't surprise him. He'd always been drawn to the man even when he regarded him as little more than pure evil. They were the last of their kind, the only remaining full-blooded Saiya-jin in the universe. There would be no other.

Goten sighed as he watched his father stare blankly out of the window. "The walk didn't help much, did it?"

"If anything, it made things even worse." Goku placed his hands over his face and groaned. "The only thing the peace and quiet did for me was cause my mind to wander."

"You have to do something about this, Tousan. It looks like it's really eating away at you. The best course of action would be to just tell him how you feel."

Goku stared at him. "_That's_ the best course of action? This is _Vegeta_ we're talking about here, son."

"You could always defeat him in battle. Either he'll be easier to deal with or he'll try to rip your heart out."

"Knowing Vegeta as I do, it'll most likely be the latter."

The teen smiled. "Don't be too sure about that. He did, after all, apologize to you earlier. He's mellowed a lot over the years."

His father wasn't reassured. "He may joke around and even allow me to beat him without threats of death, but Vegeta's still very capable of depopulating this planet. Never forget that." Goku rose from the couch and eased the tension. "We've got hours before dinner. You want to spar?"

Goten gulped. "Go easy on me, okay? I've been lazy lately."

His only response was a cheerful smile.

***

Vegeta was alternating between stirring a large pot of tomato sauce on the stove and smacking Bra's hand away from the garlic bread. As soon as she and Trunks had returned from the store, the ouji had put them right to work so there had been no time to get a snack. The rumbling of her stomach was slowly driving her insane.

The fourth time Vegeta had to slap her hand, Goku and Goten teleported into the kitchen. The short Saiya-jin stepped backward and right into a firm wall of flesh. He then jumped forward and nearly knocked the pot from the stove.

"How many damn times have I told you not to do that?" Vegeta asked slowly and quietly. Goku and Goten exchanged glances. They knew he was close to exploding.

Meanwhile, while Vegeta was busying himself with trying not to attack Goku, Bra succeeded in stealing a breadstick. She quickly devoured her prize and tried for another. A hand with the strength of steel halted her.

"Bra, leave the kitchen," Vegeta said without even looking in her direction. There were few things that could cause the ouji to yell at his daughter and annoyance wasn't one of them. Bra vanished without protest and Vegeta turned his full attention to the two standing behind him.

"Vegeta-san, we're sorry!" Goten said fearfully. Oh, he would definitely take his father's words to heart. Vegeta had lost none of his bark or his bite. "Please don't.... hurt us?" The teen realized that Vegeta wasn't even paying attention to him. Instead, his gaze was focused solely on his father. The hard look in his eyes had softened and a faint smile caused the edges of his mouth to tilt slightly upward. Goku had an equally gentle expression on his face. "I'll just be going now," Goten said before edging out of the kitchen. He doubted that either man heard him.

"Why are you looking like that?" Bra asked before she peeked into the kitchen. "Why are papa and Goku-san staring at each other?"

Goten pulled her away. "You wouldn't understand."

She frowned at him. "I know I've seen kaasan look at papa like that before, but this is the first time I've seen papa look so goofy."

"Are you spying on them?" said Trunks so suddenly it made the other two jump.

"_I'm_ not, but I don't know about Bra." Goten took a large step away from the kitchen door and crossed his arms. He glanced at Trunks. "Tousan's courting Vegeta-san."

Both Briefs children blinked in confusion for a moment, until his words sank in. "NANI?!"

"Are you sure, Goten?" Trunks placed a hand on the taller demi-Saiya-jin's forehead. "Funny, you don't have a fever..."

"I'm not sick!" He jerked his thumb at the kitchen door. "Tousan and I talked about this before. You should see him when he's away from Vegeta-san. He's so depressed."

Trunks shook his head. "This is bizarre, Goten! You know that, don't you?"

"Why is that, Trunks?" His eyes grew cold. "Is it because they're both men?"

That threw the older demi-Saiya-jin completely off. "That has nothing to do with it! Where in the world did you get that from?"

Goten instantly regretted his words. "Doesn't matter. Why do you think it's so bizarre, then?"

Bra looked back and forth between the two of them, wondering whether or not she should interfere. She knew the reason Trunks said that, though she hadn't seen it personally. Her father was different by the time she was born. "Niichan said that because papa is supposed to hate Goku-san. He spent years trying to be stronger than him, remember?"

"I remember, but don't you see? Lately, Vegeta-san's been happier than he's ever been before and so has tousan."

The kitchen door swung open and Goku started out. He stopped mid-step when he saw three embarrassed demi-Saiya-jin attempting to act completely innocent. "Okay... What's going on here?"

"Nothing," they chorused.

"You can't fool me, kids. I'm not as stupid as I look." Goku smiled at them. "Oh, I know..." He trailed off and pretended to think as the three sweated. "You were discussing what to buy Vegeta! Christmas is coming up, you know."

Trunks and Goten just stared at him and Bra's hand flew to her mouth. "I completely forgot!"

"BRA!" both young men cried in unison.

"Nani?" she asked. "Well, I _did_."

Goku chuckled to himself as the three disappeared into the living room. He knew very well why they were outside the kitchen door and had even heard part of their conversation. If he truly did decide to pursue a relationship with Vegeta, Trunks might be resentful and the last thing he wanted to do was strain the relationship between father and son.

Then it hit him. He was thinking as if he actually had a chance with the Saiya-jin no Ouji. The man was practically untouchable, a pretty little glass bauble to look at but never to come within six feet of. He could admire from afar, but that was about all.

On that depressing note, Goku sat down on the floor next to the kitchen door to wait for dinner to be ready. There had to be some way to make the best of the situation. He was usually a pro at that, after all. So absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't notice Vegeta until the smaller man grabbed a lock of Goku's hair and yanked. Hard.

"ITAI!" Goku squealed and jerked away. He pouted and looked at Vegeta with pained tears in the corners of his eyes. "That really hurt."

Well, Vegeta couldn't very well maintain his stern countenance when Goku made such an adorable face. "You were ignoring me," he said and, despite himself, the words came out doleful.

_"Well, well, well. Look who's softening up!"_ The chibi angel popped into existence and hovered around Goku's left shoulder. _"I _knew_ that it was only a matter of time."_ He blew on his fingernails and buffed them on his white kimono. _"Damn, I'm good."_

Vegeta's face twisted into a look of absolute annoyance. _"Why can't you just leave me the fuck alone?!"_

_"Ooh! Such language!"_ the angel reprimanded as he settled upon Goku's shoulder. The prince tensed up instantly and wondered if Goku would notice. He half hoped that he did. At least it would mean that he wasn't insane.

Goku lazily brushed at his shoulder, but his hand froze when he encountered nothing but air. He stared at his shoulder for a moment before staring at Vegeta. "I have the strangest feeling that I'm missing something."

_"SHIT!" _Both Vegetas cursed vehemently. When the prince wagged his finger at the angel, he stuck out his tongue and vanished.

"Uh, Vegeta?" the younger Saiya-jin said as he watched the gloved finger move back and forth. "Are you going to do something with that?"

The finger froze and a faint blush rose up on Vegeta's cheeks. "Dinner's ready," he said gruffly before fleeing to the relative safety of the kitchen. Goku was seriously confused at his behavior but decided to let it go. It was highly unlikely that he would discover an explanation for it, anyway, seeing as Vegeta was rarely forthcoming.

Dinner was actually pretty pleasant. Vegeta had made an excellent meal of spaghetti, meatballs, salad, and garlic breadsticks. Goku remembered when he discovered that the prince knew how to cook. It had been one afternoon when Trunks had been young and Bulma had been sick. The three-year-old was hungry and pestered Vegeta until the man decided to do something about it. So the prince went to the cupboard and pulled out three cans of alphabet soup. Then he proceeded to heat them up and serve it to his son. Trunks was so grateful that he out spelled his thanks in the noodles.

Trunks told Goten who, in turn, told Goku several years later. The younger Saiya-jin teased Vegeta about it for a week straight until the prince got the upper hand by quickly powering up to Super Saiya-jin Level Three. He then proceeded to straddle Goku and tickle him until he nearly wet himself. The younger man quickly promised to never bring it up again. And he didn't.... until now.

"Hey, Vegeta," Goku said with a huge grin on his face. "When was the last time you had alphabet soup?" Bra and Goten looked blank, but Trunks started to snicker.

"That was a long time ago, Kakarotto, and I thought I made you promise to never speak of it again." What his father was talking about suddenly dawned on Goten and he joined his best-friend in the laughter.

Bra was intensely curious. "What is he talking about, Papa?"

"It's nothing. Go back to eating your dinner." Vegeta tried to get everyone to forget about that topic, but knew that it was doomed to failure. Why was he doing it in the first place? He really shouldn't be ashamed of something like that... especially now. Everyone already knew that he wasn't quite the bad ass he used to be. Dangerous, yes, but not bad.

"When I was a chibi and kaasan was sick, papa made me lunch." Trunks loved to tell the story. It was one of the few father-son moments he'd had with Vegeta as a kid. "I didn't even know he could turn on the stove let alone make something edible. Granted, he only heated up a few cans of soup, but kaasan couldn't even do that without scorching it." He smiled. "Do you know how hard it is to spell 'domo arigatou' out in noodles? I was three at the time and could barely spell my own name much less spell something as long as that."

Bra smirked at him. "I doubt you could do it even now."

"Shut up, Bra." He glared at her.

She gave him an equally irritated stare. "Make me."

They began to talk at once, each demi-Saiya-jin detailing exactly what they would do to the other if they didn't leave them alone. Without pausing in his meal, Vegeta held up his hand. His two children fell instantly silent.

"Wow!" Goten exclaimed. "I've never gotten Trunks to stop talking that quickly."

"It's amazing what you can do when people are intimidated by you." Vegeta leaned back in his chair, completely full. No one spoke or moved an inch. The prince waved his hands at the table. "These dishes aren't going to take care of themselves."

Bra and Trunks hopped to it. Even Goten felt compelled to help clear the table. The Saiya-jin no Ouji gave Goku a look and the younger man smiled. "I'm not the least bit intimidated by you, Vegeta. Won't work on me."

"I knew it wasn't going to." He stretched and Goku found himself entranced by his feline grace. "Are you too full to spar?"

"Are you going to trick me again?"

He looked ashamed. "I apologized for that, remember? I was under the impression that the slate was wiped clean."

"Just joking." Goku grinned. "You really need to loosen up, 'geta."

The prince's eyes widened and he thought to himself, '_Did he just call me by a term of endearment?!_'

"We're losing daylight, 'geta." He gently pushed him towards the door. "C'mon!"

He was too shocked and pleased to reprimand Goku for being so familiar with him. It would have been a knee-jerk reaction anyway, more habit than anything else. The last thing he wanted to do was push the younger Saiya-jin away.

***

Later, as they lay pleasantly exhausted underneath the stars, Goku asked a question. " 'geta, tell me about Vegeta-sei."

"Nani?!" To say that he was surprised was an understatement. Vegeta was completely floored.

"Hai. I've never really heard anything about it besides the information about the Legendary Super Saiya-jin. What was it like?"

The prince thought for a moment. "Harsh," he said, "and uncomfortable. You know that I was only a small child when our planet was blown up by Furiza, but before then I had spent most of my life training to be the best. All the elders would talk about was how I was going to be the strongest in the universe and that I was destined to be the Legendary." He gave Goku a look. "We both know how _that_ turned out."

Goku blushed and he chuckled. "Look Kakarotto, I'm over it. That was almost twenty damn years ago. You help keep this planet safe and, in turn, help to keep my brats safe. I thank you for it."

The words just did not make sense. "I'm going insane, 'geta. I could have sworn that you just _thanked_ me for something."

"Hai, I did. So?"

The next thing the prince knew, Goku's warm hand was on his forehead. "You're cool. So that means that you must have been the one to lose his mind."

"I'm fine, Kakarotto!" Vegeta then proceeded to grumble mostly to himself. "When a man starts doing the right thing, after twenty-three years of being preached at by a third-class baka, he's looked upon as a mental patient! Why bother in the first place?"

"I- You- I mean-!" Goku stuttered.

It was Vegeta's turn to grin. "Just joking."


	4. Part 1, Chapter 4

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part I: Distant Dreams)**

**Chapter 4**

The next few days passed by pretty much the same way they always had. Goku and Vegeta sparred on a daily basis, Trunks and Goten hung out after the lavender-haired demi-Saiya-jin got home from work, and Bra begged her father to train her. Actually, the last was a brand new occurrence.

"Just tell me why, Papa? Why can't I kick butt like the rest of you?" Bra grumpily dug her spoon into her bowl of cereal at the breakfast table.

Vegeta looked at her with a tired expression. "Because learning to fight will make you a target, Bra. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Oh," she said at length. "I understand. But what if the bad guy doesn't care that I'm just an innocent bystander? If I can't defend myself against him, then I'm just as dead. I would rather have a chance at saving myself, Papa."

Trunks nodded. "The squirt has a point."

He didn't want to give in even though his daughter had a solid argument, but there was no guarantee that evil was done visiting Chikyuu. "Meet me in the backyard an hour after breakfast. Your lessons begin today."

A delighted smile lit up her face like a Christmas tree. "Really, Papa? Oh, domo arigatou!" Bra ran around the table and hugged him with all of her strength.

"Don't thank me just yet. Trunks will tell you that I don't go easy on anyone."

"I don't care." She ran upstairs to get ready.

Vegeta dropped his head to his hands almost as soon as she was out of sight. "I don't know a damn thing about training a female child."

"It's not as if she's ningen. Bra can take a lot."

"Not the point, brat. The female mind is a confusing, complicated thing. I could accidentally say something to her that would make her burst into tears! What am I supposed to do then, huh? You'll be at work and I don't have a clue how to calm a crying female."

Trunks smothered a smile. "You'll be fine, Papa. Hey, if worse comes to worse you could always call Goku-san. He did train Pan after all."

Hope dawned in his eyes. "You're right and Gohan's brat was even younger than Bra is now!" Though having Goku help him out with Bra was the primary reason, he couldn't help but to be happy about the potential time they would get to spend together. Vegeta considered it an added bonus.

"I have to leave, but I'll come if you call me." His blue eyes silently pleaded for his father to call him. He'd been the president of Capsule Corporation for a year -- ever since Bulma died -- and he still hadn't adjusted.

"You own the company, Trunks. If you despise working there so much, why can't you just hire someone to run it for you?"

Trunks twisted his hands and confliction showed on his face. Obviously it was something he'd thought about (and agonized over) before. "Ojiisan spent his entire life running Capsule Corporation and Kaasan did the same. I feel like I'm dishonoring their memories by just _thinking_ about it. It would tear me apart to actually do it."

"Trunks," Vegeta said seriously, "I don't think either of them would want you to do something that made you miserable. I certainly don't."

"I didn't think that you cared either way," he said while looking ashamed. "You're my papa and I know that you love me... I guess. It's just that you don't seem to care about anything other than being the strongest and beating the crap out of Goku-san."

Vegeta knew that he was right, but hadn't he seen the changes over the years? After the defeat of Majin Buu -- and the birth of Bra -- he'd concentrated more on his children than anything else. From the fusions of Vegetto and Gogeta, he'd seen deep into Goku's heart and discovered what made the man so powerful. He had a core of righteousness that Vegeta could never hope to match, but, regardless of futility, he would spend the rest of his life trying.

"While, I admit, fighting with Kakarotto is enjoyable, you and Bra are my responsibility." Vegeta allowed emotion to fill his eyes, something he hadn't done in a very long time. "Your happiness is important to me. No matter how I behave, always remember that."

Trunks was completely speechless. He just sat in his chair and stared at his father until Vegeta tapped his wrist. "What does that..." The young man glanced down and gasped. "Watch! Time! Late!"

"At least you've got the essentials," Vegeta said with a very small smile.

He jumped up and grabbed his briefcase, throwing one last look at his father. Then, on an impulse, he went over and hugged the startled Saiya-jin. "Arigatou, Papa. See you later."

The prince sat there for a moment, a smile on his face, until a voice pulled him from his thoughts. "That was so sweet!"

Vegeta jumped and was five seconds away from letting loose a ki attack on the owner of the voice. He turned and groaned aloud. "Kakarotto. I should have known."

"Don't act like you're disappointed to see me. I know better. I could even say that you like having me around." Goku grinned.

"Say one damn thing and you're hearing about it for the rest of your life," Vegeta grumbled. "Do you promise not to bring whatever I say next up again?"

"I promise," he said promptly. He said it a little too fast for Vegeta tastes, but the ouji continued anyway.

"Bra asked me to train her and I agreed. Ihavenodamnideahowtotrainafemalesowouldyouhelpmedothis?"

Goku blinked and processed his words. "Are you asking me for help?"

"Hai." He tried not to look ashamed, but it didn't work very well. Goku opened his mouth again and the prince held up a hand. "If it's anything other than 'hai' or 'iie', I don't want to hear it."

He looked at him with bright, innocent eyes. "I dunno. Maybe." Goku found himself suddenly on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. Vegeta was straddling his waist and wiggling his fingers.

"Answer me correctly or I'm going to torture you." The younger Saiya-jin's eyes sparkled with humor and before he could even open his mouth, Vegeta's nimble fingers were digging into his sides.

Goku squealed and began to laugh hysterically. "Hai, hai! I'll help you!" Tears fell from his eyes and he was dangerously close to wetting himself. "Onegai, 'geta. Stop tickling me!"

"If I'm interrupting something, I could always come back," Bra stood in the doorway, looking at them with a humored expression on her face. She had on one of Trunks' old gi that he'd worn when he was her age with a tee-shirt underneath.

The three of them went outside. "I can't believe that someone's finally gonna teach me martial arts! You two are the best!"

"Just wait until you see 'geta's training methods," Goku stage whispered. He then said louder, "Bra-chan, can you fly?"

She nodded. "Trunks taught me a few years ago after I begged him to death. I'm pretty sure I picked it up faster than Goten-niichan." Bra smirked. "That's something I can tease him about for years."

"What else do you know?"

They only covered the basics that day. Bra could fly and control her ki, but that seemed to be about the full extent of her abilities. Then, much to the delight of the girl, Goku and Vegeta sparred for her.

She was absolutely entranced. "You make it look just like a dance."

"That comes with decades of practice," Goku told her.

"I'm gonna be that good someday and then I'll get to spar with both of you." Bra could picture it in her mind. "I bet I'll even win!" Vegeta and Goku exchanged looks and burst into laughter. Bra glared at them. "What's so funny?"

"N-nothing, Bra," Vegeta gasped. "It's just that while you get stronger, so will we."

Goku shook his head. "_I_ was laughing because she sounded so much like you right then. No one would ever mistake her for someone else's daughter." The short Saiya-jin didn't know whether to be pleased... or insulted.

The rest of the afternoon was spent teaching Bra how to spar. Most of it was instinctual -- she was part Saiya-jin after all -- and, by the end of the day, she felt that she could go up against Pan and know what to do.

"She's only a quarter-Saiya-jin, but would probably kick my butt," she grumped. "But, if I train every single day, eventually I'll be stronger than she is. I _ am_ Vegeta's daughter after all."

Vegeta looked as if he would burst with pride. "At last, someone who recognizes true strength."

"I've always admired your strength, Vegeta," Goku said quietly. "Especially when no one else did."

The prince smiled and stared deeply into his former rival's eyes. After five minutes went by and neither of their gazes wavered, Bra smiled to herself and went into the house. It seemed that Goten was right... for once.

***

They were becoming closer than ever before. Jokes passed between them, gentle teasing, and even affection! Vegeta was like a brand new man.

Goku was nearly one-hundred percent positive that the Saiya-jin no Ouji would accept his courtship. Now, he had to tell the older man what he wanted. That was definitely harder than it sounded.

Once again they laid underneath the stars. Goku was starting to discover that the heavens gave him the courage to ask questions that would have never passed his lips otherwise.

"Have you ever been in love with someone?"

To say that the prince was stunned by the query would have been an understatement. He seemed to be having a lot of shock-filled moments lately. "Nani?"

Goku repeated himself. "I know that you didn't feel that way about Bulma because I could see it in your eyes."

"Iie, I didn't love the onna. I tried for many years for the sake of Trunks and Bra, but we weren't fooling anyone with our so-called happy marriage. In fact, I refused to go through with the silly ningen custom. It meant more to her than I was willing to give." He glanced at Goku from the corner of his eye. "Iie, I haven't ever been in love with someone."

As if on cue, the chibi angel appeared. _"Do you even know what being in love feels like?"_

_"I would know if I was in love. You can't miss it, supposedly."_

_"You could if you've never experienced it before. Look at Goku. What do you feel?"_

_"That's none of your damn business."_

The angel laughed. _'You don't have to tell me, I already know. You love him and you're also _in_ love with him. You want to spend the rest of your life with him, right by his side. When he's happy, you're happy. When he hurts, you hurt. Cut him and you bleed."_

_"I understand that, angel. No need to go on and on about it."_

_"So, do you admit it, Veggie? He needs to know. I can look at him myself and feel his heartache."_

Vegeta turned onto his side and examined his sparring partner carefully. He very quickly noticed the usual things he always did. The wild hair, the bright eyes, the strong body. Then he looked deep within the man known as Son Goku to his friends, and Kakarotto to the prince. There was a tender heart and an innate sense of selflessness that never ceased to astound him.

He was beautiful both inside and out.

Vegeta had never known anyone who made him feel as warm inside as Goku did and probably never will. The younger Saiya-jin was one in a million, a law unto himself. He had to make a decision, one that would change both of their lives forever. Did he give in to his feelings and pursue a relationship with Goku, or did he continue to resist and leave both of them in misery?

'_That's a dumb ass question,_' he admitted to himself. Aloud he said, "Kakarotto?"

Goku turned his head. "Hai, Vegeta?"

"I have been in love before."

"With who?" he asked softly, almost afraid of the answer he would receive.

Vegeta faced him with a real smile on his face. "I'm looking at him."

The Earth-born Saiya-jin just looked at him for a moment before his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out cold.

"I can't believe he just did that!" Then a horror-stricken expression crossed his own face. "I can't believe I just said that!" Then Vegeta, the crowned prince of the Saiya-jin, joined his companion in unconsciousness.

***

There was a hand where no hand other than his own had been in a long time. Vegeta stretched with cat-like grace and all but purred at the sensation. If he moved a little to the left, the feeling increased ten-fold. For several minutes he just lay there enjoying the warmth and comfort before a ki attracted his attention. Actually, there were two of them.

'_What the hell?_' he thought to himself before turning over onto his side. His right arm came in contact with a large, warm body. Thinking nothing of it, he cuddled up to the source of the heat and slowly slid back into slumber.

"No one would _ever_ believe this," a voice whispered. "Hell, I'm not sure _I_ believe it!"

Amused laughter. "You owe me one-hundred zenni. That'll teach you to listen to me."

Vegeta slowly opened his eyes, squinting a little when the bright morning sunlight hit them. "What are you two doing?"

"Papa?" Trunks whispered as he backed away slowly. He hoped that maybe his father was still asleep. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. "Nice day, isn't it?"

Goten grinned. "Especially when you're cuddling up to my tousan."

The prince paused, eyes opening wide. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me." Trunks threw 'shut up' looks at his best-friend (who chose to ignore him). "Seem to be pretty happy about it. At least one part of you does." Goten then snickered as Vegeta turned slightly red.

"That is a natural morning phenomenon, nothing more," Vegeta said while his face darkened in color. Goku chose that moment to reach out with his left hand and clutch at his privates. The very embarrassed prince groaned as he reacted instantly.

Trunks covered up his eyes. "I am not watching the father of my best-friend grope my papa. I am _not_ watching the father of my best-friend grope my papa."

"You can keep saying that," Goten said with a grin, "but it won't make it any less true. C'mon, let's leave the two of them alone." He pulled Trunks away, but not without giving the Saiya-jin a thumbs up.

Vegeta stared upward at the sky while he attempted to will his problem away. "How do I tell the baka to move his hand?"

_"You don't, Veggie. Besides, I'm sure you're enjoying it."_

_"Whether I'm enjoying it or not isn't the point," _he growled._ "How do I get out of this situation without making it worse?"_

The angel tapped his chin in thought._ "You could always go back to sleep and hope that Goku wakes up before you do. Then he could just move and everything will be fine."_

_"Or you can move the damn thing yourself," _the devil said as he popped into existence,_ "and smack him for having the audacity to manhandle the royal heir."_

_"He's not manhandling him!" _The angel shouted._ "Goku's being very gentle."_

Vegeta covered his ears._ "Will you two just shut up for a minute! I have a solution, myself. I'll just move and pray to Kami that he doesn't wake up."_

He inched a little away from Goku and continued to do so after making sure that the other Saiya-jin was going to remain asleep. Just as he was almost free from the larger Saiya-jin's wayward hand, Goku rolled over and trapped him partially beneath his body. "Just great," Vegeta muttered. "Just fucking great." Actually, it _was_ great, but he couldn't be seen, or heard, enjoying things as they were.

_"What ya gonna do now?"_ the angel asked curiously._ "Your right hand's sorta pinned underneath his stomach. Just a few more inches and you could return the favor."_

The devil's lips twisted upward in an evil little grin._ "Your mouth is also really close to his ear. I say you bite it off."_

He ignored both of their suggestions and instead whispered in Goku's ear. "Kakarotto, breakfast!"

Goku's eyes shot open. "Breakfast? Where?!" He looked down at Vegeta (who had an annoyed expression on his face). " 'geta, what are you doing under me?"

"I'm definitely not changing the oil, baka," he growled. "Get off, I have to go find a toilet before my bladder explodes."

"Sorry 'bout that," Goku apologized sheepishly. His embarrassment grew worse when he realized his state of arousal. The best thing he could find to do in the situation was to ignore it. "You say something about breakfast?"

"Hai. Go entertain your offspring. We eat in an hour."

As Goku watched him head into the house, he couldn't help, but think that Vegeta was one of the sexiest men he'd ever seen. '_And soon,_' he thought, '_he'll be all mine._'


	5. Part 1, Chapter 5

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part I: Distant Dreams)**

**Chapter 5**

'_Today's the day I'm going to ask him,_' Goku said to himself. '_Iie, I'm going to _tell_ him!_'

He'd never considered himself a forceful man. In fact, he was pretty docile overall. Informing someone that he was going to court them whether they wanted him to or not seemed just a little bit.... out of character. '_How much do you want him, Goku? How far are you willing to go?_' The answer to those questions were easy: very much and very far.

It was six in the morning when he called Vegeta, but he knew that the older man was already awake. The prince hardly ever slept past five-thirty.

"Nani?" His voice was gruff but, then again, it always seemed to be that way.

Goku took a deep breath. "Ohayo, 'geta. This phone call is very important so I want you to listen carefully."

"What is it?"

"Meet me at our usual sparring grounds in one hour. I'm going to make you mine."

There was a moment of silence, then Vegeta asked, "You're going to _what_?!"

"You heard me. Meet me in an hour." Goku hung up the phone, heart pounding wildly. He'd finally done it. Vegeta would soon be his.

The Earth-born Saiya-jin exited the kitchen uncertain. He had no idea what to do with himself, now. Did he head off to their sparring grounds and wait for fifty-five minutes or did he plan for the battle? After a moment, Goku made a decision. He would plan for the battle. Knowing Vegeta, he would need all of the tricks he could come up with.

Ten minutes to seven, Goku arrived at the place they'd sparred at six days ago. He paced restlessly as he waited for Vegeta to arrive. What if he lost? That would be awful. He doubted that he would have another chance to prove himself to the prince.

Five minutes to seven, he spotted a small dark spot in the sky. At the speed Vegeta was going, he would reach him in less than a minute. This was it, the moment he'd been waiting for. No turning back now.

Vegeta dropped to the ground and walked towards him, arms folded over his chest. "We need to talk, Kakarotto."

"Talk? There's nothing to talk about." On the outside, he was a perfect picture of calm. On the inside, it was an entirely different story. His stomach had hyperactive butterflies fluttering around inside of it and his mind was running around in frantic circles. One chance. He had only one chance.

"We have a _ lot_ to talk about!" he glared at him but it was halfhearted. "You called my house and demanded that I meet you out here today! Not only was that extremely unusual, it was extremely rude! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Goku allowed the feelings he usually received from a good battle to fill his heart. He smirked and phased out of sight. "This," he said as his fist connected solidly with Vegeta's face. The smaller Saiya-jin screamed in pain and reflexively reached up to cover the bruised area. That gave Goku time to knee him in the stomach.

'_Gotta keep him off balance,_' Goku repeated over and over again to himself. It was the key to success in this battle, the only way that he was going to win once and for all. There could be no tie.

As they each gave the battle one-hundred percent of all they had, Vegeta had to admit that he was reveling in it. There had been few sparring matches where he could truthfully say, "Kakarotto thoroughly kicked my ass and I've never had so much fun!"

_"Ooh! This is so exciting!"_ the chibi angel squealed as he tossed a handful of popcorn into his mouth. _"One-hundred zenni on Goku!"_

"This is _not_ the right time for this!" He didn't realize that he'd shouted it aloud until Goku frowned at him. "DAMN IT!"

_"Temper, temper."_ His eyes grew comically wide when he suddenly found himself between Goku's fist and Vegeta's face. Even though the chibi knew that he couldn't be hurt by the large Saiya-jin, it still scared the pee out of him. _"OH, NO!"_

Vegeta started to snicker at the panicked look on the angel's face, and it turned into deep belly laughs at the confused expression on Goku's after his fist went straight through the chibi. He doubled over gasping for breath as tears fell from his closed eyes. The prince's concentration broke and he fell about ten feet from the air to the ground.

"This isn't working out how I pictured it!" Goku screamed in frustration. He grunted and shot a kit blast at the unsuspecting Saiya-jin no Ouji, knocking him completely unconscious. "Kami, that was underhanded." Then he grinned. "But it worked." Goku did a little victory dance and dropped down to kneel beside Vegeta.

"I am the champion," he sang quietly to himself, "I am the champion. You are the loser 'cause I am the champion...." Goku lifted his voice to the heavens. "OF THE WORLD!"

***

Recently he'd begun visiting Trunks around lunchtime. Goten had a lot of free time around midday since one class ended at eleven forty-five and the next didn't begin until two. Sometimes he brought lunch to the older demi-Saiya-jin's office, but mostly they went out to eat. Trunks really hated spending more time there than he needed to.

"I wish I could have gone to college," he sighed wistfully as he set his napkin down onto his tray. He could have easily afforded the most exclusive restaurant in Satan City, but they always seemed to end up at McDonald's. Goten loved the place for some reason.

Goten laughed. "It's not all fun and games, Trunks. You have to work pretty hard most of the time and study late into the night. There's been times I've only gotten about two hours of sleep before I had to get up again." He sobered and looked down at the table. "Sometimes I feel like just dropping out, you know? But I promised kaasan that I would make something of myself just like Gohan did and niichan was so proud when I got accepted into the university."

"You're not your brother." His expression turned serious. "I'm going to tell you something that a wise man once told me. 'I don't think either of them would want you to do something that made you miserable.' It's your life, Goten. Not ChiChi-san's or Gohan's or anyone else's."

"Who told you that?" the teen asked.

Trunks smiled. "Papa."

He was surprised, but not very much. Vegeta's metamorphosis had begun several years before. No longer did he ignore his children and train the day away. "So, you think we're going to become brothers?" Now, _that_ would be weird. His mother had been against him spending time with Trunks most of his life, but, now that she wasn't around to say anything, he spent as much time as he could with him.

"If we do, I get to boss you around." Trunks grinned. "I _am_ older than you are."

"By one little year!" he argued, but it was halfhearted. The argument was so old that it probably dated back to when they were still in diapers.

Soon it was time for Trunks to head back to work. They stood outside Capsule Corporation and just stared at the building. "I guess I should be going, now," the lavender-haired demi-Saiya-jin said.

"Hai," Goten responded.

"I have a lot of work to do today."

"Hai."

Trunks exchanged looks with his best-friend. "Last one to the lake has to buy the other a present!" He was in the air before he'd even finished his sentence.

"You're such a cheater!" Goten shouted as he followed him.

Both school and work were instantly forgotten.

***

"Nobody's around," Bra said to herself as she shut the door behind her. "That's weird." She'd just gotten out of school and had been walking home by herself for a year. Satan City was fairly safe, thanks to the heroic deeds of the Great Saiyaman II. Personally, everyone felt that Videl was a little too old to be running around in a goofy superhero outfit, but no one would dare say it to her face.

Bra dropped her backpack into the nearest chair and headed straight to the kitchen for a snack. She'd missed lunch that day because the entire half-hour had been spent shadow-sparring in the football field. Here's to hoping that Vegeta would be proud of her for the extra training.

After fixing herself a gigantic sandwich, she was about to head up to her room with her meal when she heard a strange sound. It sounded a cross between a grunt and moan. "What in the world...."

The front door opened and closed behind her. "Bra-chan, why are you just standing here in the hall?" Trunks asked curiously.

She turned to him with a grin on her face. "I think papa has someone special over."

"Why do you say that?"

Another round of moans floated downstairs, but they were louder this time around. "Because that's not his voice and he sounds like he's _really_ enjoying himself."

Trunks blushed several different shades of red and clapped his hands over his little sister's ears. "Kami!"

Eventually the sounds of pleasure upstairs stopped. By that time, Bra had completely finished eating and Trunks' arms were becoming tired. "Hi, guys!" Goku said cheerfully as he came downstairs in just his gi pants. "How's it going?"

"Are you our new mother?" Bra asked innocently.

"Bra!" her brother gasped.

Goku was genuinely confused by her words. "What would make you think that?"

"You were making sounds like the ones in Trunks' porno movies."

"Just how would you... Nevermind." He chuckled at the lavender-haired demi-Saiya-jin's embarrassment. "Anyway, 'geta gives a great massage. Even after I knocked him unconscious."

Trunks blinked. "You mean, that's all you were doing? It sure didn't sound like it."

"I guess I get a little too enthusiastic," Goku laughed. "Trunks, I need to talk to you for a minute. It's about the bonding ritual."

Eyes wide, he nodded. "Okay....."

"What's a bonding ritual?" Bra asked curiously. "How come no one ever told me about it?"

"You're not old enough, Bra," Trunks informed her. "Can you leave us, for a few minutes? This is adult stuff."

She pouted, but gave in. "No one _ever_ tells me anything."

"Goten told me about it last week, but he couldn't remember the specifics for the ritual. Can you tell me?"

Like Bra, Trunks couldn't believe that Goten had been right all along. He was _never_ right. "You want to court my papa?"

Goku nodded. "Hai."

"Are you sure about this? I don't want him to be hurt because you made a hasty decision." Trunks adopted a stern look on his face as he examined Goku's seriousness.

"Trunks, I'm absolutely sure. Vegeta completes me."

The young man nodded. "Alright, then. Step one of the bonding ritual is...."

***

'_Does Kakarotto actually understand the full meaning of the ritual? Sometimes it seems like he's one-hundred percent on top of things and other times... Well, I don't want to call him slow because he isn't. Let's just say that Kakarotto isn't as attentive as he should be when it comes to certain things._

'_I don't even know if we're compatible or not. People fall in love all the time and can't stand to be around each other. Well, establishment is the first step of the ritual. We'll find out then._'

The sun was setting and Vegeta was just about ready for what he considered a _very_ important date. After he regained consciousness that morning, he found an extremely smug Saiya-jin sitting cross-legged beside him. "Victory is mine, 'geta."

"So I feel," he grunted as he sat up. "I accept your courtship."

Goku grinned brightly. "Great! Okay, now what do we do?"

"Well..." Vegeta, for some reason, felt like messing with his head. "We screw like rabid weasels 'til dawn or until someone passes out from exhaustion. Whichever comes first."

"We do?" he asked in disbelief. "Wow...."

"I'm kidding, Kakarotto," Vegeta told him as he climbed to his feet. "Though the thought _is_ enticing. I bet you've never had anyone that could meet you in the stamina department."

He shook his head. "Iie, I haven't had anyone besides ChiChi and, although strong, she was still ningen."

"You want to head back to Capsule Corp. for..." He examined the position of the sun. "...brunch? We can find something to do until tonight. The ritual must be done under the night sky."

Tonight had now come and he was (uncharacteristically) nervous. He'd had many lovers in the past, but none of them had meant one-tenth as much to him as Goku did. Vegeta didn't know just when he'd started loving the younger Saiya-jin, but it felt as if he always had.

There was a knock on his bedroom door. "Papa, explain the ritual to me. I don't get it at all."

"Come in, Bra. Let's talk."

She sat on the bed and watched him primp in front of the mirror. "Wow, you're looking pretty snazzy."

Vegeta examined his black silk shirt and tight black leather pants. He had to admit that he looked good enough to eat. '_Hopefully, Kakarotto thinks so as well._' Heat rose up to his cheeks as hentai thoughts invaded his mind. Oh, the things they could do in eleven hours....

"Saiya-jin use a ritual to pick their mate because, on Vegeta-sei, we had no marriage ceremony. You bond mentally, emotionally, and physically with whoever you choose and become half of a whole." He chucked when the little girl's eyes grew large and elaborated. "Not permanently, Bra. It's not a Potara earring fusion. We'll still be two separate people."

"Good," she said, relieved. "I like you just the way you are. How long will you be gone?"

'_All night, hopefully,_' he thought. Aloud he said, "I'll be here when you wake up in the morning and Trunks will take good care of you in the meantime."

She hugged him. "Okay, Papa. Have fun."

"Oh I will, Bra-chan. I will."

***

"What if I do something wrong?" That was the question Goku continued to ask himself every few minutes. If he screwed up the bonding ritual, he had no idea what would happen. Would Vegeta abandon the thought of becoming his lifemate because of his inadequacy?

Goku groaned. "Is the ritual supposed to make me this crazy?"

"Tousan, just take it easy. In just a few short hours, you'll be joined with Vegeta-san. You should be anticipated, not nervous."

"I can't help it, Goten. There's just so much I can lose right now!" Goku started to pace. His son opened his mouth to protest and his father raised his hand. "I know, I know. Trunks told me how to do the ritual in detail. First, I link my mind with Vegeta's; next, we exchange vows; then, we consummate the bond and mark each other at the, um, pinnacle." He blushed as he told Goten of the last step. He would always be his son no matter how old he became, and, to Goku, it was embarrassing to talk about sex-related things with your children.

"If I notice some really weird ki spikes, just ignore them, ne?" Goten chuckled. "You two aren't trying to kill each other.... Well, maybe you are. Just in another way."

His face grew darker in color. "Can we _please_ talk about something else?"

"Okay.... Do you think I'll be able to call him papa, too? I don't mind if Trunks and Bra want to call you tousan. Don't know about Gohan, though."

Goku's eyes widened. "Gohan! I completely forgot about him! What would he think about this?"

Goten immediately grew serious and his father took that as a very bad sign. "I don't really know, but I doubt it'll be good. If it's not the same-sex thing, it's going to be because it's Vegeta. Not many people like him very much."

"He's not that bad!" Goku found himself exclaiming. "I know that he glowers at people a lot, but you can't tell a damn thing about a person from the outside alone."

"I know that, Tousan. It's me, remember?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry, son, but they make me so angry by thinking that way. Vegeta's a wonderful person."

"They don't know him like you do," Goten said gently. "Maybe someday they will."

Goten talked to him until it was time for his father to leave. Goku was considerably less nervous by that time and it showed. Hugging him, the teen wished him luck. "Not that you'll need it. Vegeta-san would be an idiot to reject you."

"Arigatou," he replied before taking a deep breath. "I'll be back.... whenever."

As Goten watched his ki trail fade off into the distance, the event only served to make his own single status more apparent. His father was going off and finding true love.... Why couldn't he?

***

_"Oh, Vegeta...."_ The chibi sang. _"Today's the big day, huh? I'm glad I was invited to the ceremony."_

The ouji's eyes narrowed. _"You weren't."_

_"I'm your conscience, you know. I'm invited to everything. Bet the devil's gonna show up when you mark each other. He just loves the sight of freshly spilled blood."_

_"Well, if you must be present, please don't distract me. This is the most sacred of all rites a Saiya-jin can undergo."_

The chibi took his thumb and forefinger, drew it across his tiny mouth, and rotated his fingers at the end as if turning an invisible key. _"My lips are sealed."_

_"See that they remain that way."_

Usually the bonding ritual was done in complete silence (except for one part in the middle and oftentimes the end), but, then again, both participants usually knew what the heck they were doing. It may not have been discussed often -- because many Saiya-jin had seen the bond as a liability --, but the children were told about it just it case the bonding was initiated on its own. That almost never happened, but the bond had been known to form between two people entirely by itself and it was dangerous if you weren't aware of it.

Anyway, back to the original topic. The ritual was done mostly in silence because it definitely deserved the reverence. When any two people became (figuratively) of one mind, one body, and one soul, great things happened. No longer was there a "you", there was suddenly an "us". Everything you did in your life somehow impacted the life of your lifemate from what you ate for breakfast to the battle against your sworn enemy. _Especially_ when it came to a battle.

If one lifemate should happen to die before the other, the remaining partner usually lost the will to live. It just wasn't worth it when the bond was broken. It was tradition to go off and find a quiet place to end it all ritualistically, similar to what the Japanese termed _seppuku_, because it wasn't brave to ignore the urge... it was foolish.

Vegeta hoped he would never, _ever_ start to consider ritual suicide if Goku should happen to perish. He had a little girl to raise after all, and would stay alive for her if not for anyone, or anything, else.

Kneeling on the soft grass, he nodded for Goku to begin. As the instigator of the courtship, he made the first move in the ritual. Right as Goku settled himself more comfortably on the ground, the few clouds above them parted, and the silvery light of the moon shone down upon them. Neither Saiya-jin knew that the wished-back moon was going to be full, but it did make the night additionally special.

The first thing Goku needed to do was see if he could reach out and touch Vegeta's mind. He knew that he could do that with several people -- usually if they were connected to him in some way --, but this time was different. Not only would he make contact with Vegeta's mind, he would establish a psychic link and join them mentally and emotionally forever. It had the potential to be an extremely hard task, for the ouji generally kept himself closed off to people, but Goku knew that he wanted the bond nearly as much as he did -- if not more.

Closing his eyes, the younger Saiya-jin concentrated on tuning everything else out except the man kneeling before him. Everything else came in distant second to him at the moment; nothing else mattered. He tentatively reached out and his mind gently brushed against Vegeta's.... and hit a solid brick wall. It wasn't surprising that he was unable to enter. Vegeta had spent majority of his life shielding himself from people. Though he understood his reasons, it hurt just the same.

'_Vegeta, onegai..._' he said silently. '_Will you let me inside? I promise that I'll never, ever hurt you. Just what are you so afraid of?_'

He heard a heavy sigh. '_Everything. The bond makes you completely vulnerable to the person that you form it with, Kakarotto. It would be very easy to hurt me._'

'_Look deep inside your heart. Do you truly believe I would harm you?_'

He paused for only a brief moment. '_Iie._'

'_Do you believe that I wouldn't treat the bond with the respect that it deserves?_'

'_Iie._'

'_Will you let me inside?_'

In reply, an open doorway appeared in the wall before Goku and a rectangle of darkness shone through. He looked back at the brilliant green field dotted with colorful flowers and then to the blasted, naked earth before him. Without hesitation, he crossed the threshold.

Where he stepped, plants sprouted in a broad line and the dark clouds above parted like the Red Sea did for Moses. Full sunlight shone down upon a land that had been without for several decades and it was beautiful.

Goku smiled and opened his eyes. He was more aware of Vegeta than ever before, sort of like a constant warmth in the background of his mind. The ouji also smiled and he received a mental thank you.

'_It was worth the risk, Kakarotto._'

'_I'm glad you feel that way. Okay! Time for part two!_' He cleared his throat. This was the part that needed to be spoken aloud. Trunks told him that Saiya-jin wanted all of creation to know of their union. More specifically, the new couple wanted their enemies to know that there were now two people they had to go up against. "We've known each other for thirty-six years, but it seems like forever. Something about you attracted me right from the start, even before we were allies.

"Then Bulma asked me to look after you. At first I felt overwhelmed by the task but, as time wore on, I found myself falling in love. Suddenly, it wasn't about an obligation I had to my friend, it was about you and the joy I felt when we spent time together.

"People say that you only care for yourself, that you don't have the capacity for love. I know different. You may not show your true emotions often, but it's as they say: 'The rarer the flower, the sweeter the smell.'

"Vegeta, I promise to love, honor, and cherish you for the rest of my life and beyond. You mean everything to me."

Vegeta's face was completely blank and that would have upset someone else. When a person made a declaration of love to you, weren't you supposed to show some sort of emotion? If Goku hadn't made a link with the ouji, he might have been heartbroken. As it was, he felt a wave of emotion wash over him that caused his entire body to tingle. It didn't have a name (at least not one he'd ever heard of), but Goku thought of it as something even more profound than love.

"My words will pale in comparison to yours," he said after a long moment, his cheeks slightly damp with tears. "I'm just not very good with them."

Goku smiled gently. "Your vows don't have to be perfect, 'geta, just say what's in your heart."

"When I look at you, I see everything I could ever hoped to receive from another person. Kindness, compassion, safety, love.... You're absolutely perfect from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. Before I met you I knew only darkness and it owned me heart and soul. Then you went where no man had ever dared tread before and your purity filled me with light. I can never repay you for all that you've done for me, but I offer myself and my love to you with hope that you will have me by your side for all eternity."

Goku wiped at his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. "I couldn't have said it better myself." After he'd regained his composure somewhat, he silently asked, '_I need to mark you to show everyone that you're mine, right? I have to admit that it sounds a little primitive._'

'_We were a primitive race, Kakarotto._ _For millennia Saiya-jin thought that the weak could become powerful by drinking the blood of the strong._'

'_Do _you_ believe it?_'

He snorted. '_I know better. Doing it as a part of the ritual is different, however. I will have a part of you running through my veins for the rest of my life._'

'_Well, since you put it that way...._' Goku had to admit that it now sounded _very_ attractive. '_We have to consummate our bond, right? We're sort of on our honeymoon now._'

'_Isn't that a ningen custom?_' he asked. '_The answer to your question is hai._' Amusement suddenly flowed through their connection. '_Why, Kakarotto, are you nervous?_'

His face flushed scarlet. '_I've, um, never had sex with a man before. I'm not even sure I know what two men can do together._'

By the light of the moon, Goku saw Vegeta crawl towards him, his hips swaying softly. He felt the flames of desire heat his body to an uncomfortable temperature. Licking his lips, he remained perfectly still as the ouji placed his hands onto his chest and gently pushed him backwards to the ground.

"Relax," he breathed into his ear, causing the younger Saiya-jin to shiver at the sensation. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you." He touched his lips to Goku's, gently adding pressure until he felt the younger man deepen the kiss. For a minute they merely kissed, allowing Goku time to become used to the idea of intimacy with someone of the same sex. When Vegeta's hands began to roam along his sides, he was ready.

Suddenly (and without warning), Goku flipped over so that the Saiya-jin no Ouji was pinned beneath his larger body. He grinned at the briefly stunned look on Vegeta's face and began to rapidly undress the smaller man. "It's time to get serious," he informed him.

Vegeta's eyelids lowered slightly and a low, rumbling purr came from deep within his chest that drew an answering purr from his mate. "About damn time."

Their first union was hard and fast and Goku was barely able to remove his clothes before Vegeta tore them from his body. At the height of his passion, Goku leaned down and sank his teeth into the smooth flesh of Vegeta's neck and sucked the coppery-tasting blood from the small wound.

With many fervent cries, the two Saiya-jin saw the world explode into millions of brightly colored lights. Goku struggled to catch his breath as he collapsed on top of Vegeta, happy that he didn't have to worry about crushing him. After his heartbeat slowed, he rolled over onto his back and stared up at the twinkling stars. "Wow."

"Hai."

Goku grinned. "Can we do that again?"

Vegeta looked down at his still-erect manhood and a naughty smile shaped his lips. "That can be arranged. But this time, Kakarotto, _I_ am seme."

The only response he received was a gulp.

**A/N:** Had to slightly alter an above paragraph. :) _I_ considered it only to be R, but better to be safe than sorry. If you want to take a look, the unaltered version is on my personal fanfic site: Suto-ri Denkaku (http://denkaku.gokugirl.com).


	6. Part 1, Chapter 6

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part I: Distant Dreams)**

**Chapter 6**

During the course of the night, they'd done it at least five-and-a-half more times. I say half because Goku fell asleep on top of Vegeta before obtaining sexual gratification. Secretly, his mate was happy because he was so worn out that his asshole was numb. Well, he did tell Goku before that they were going to screw until the sun came up or they passed out from exhaustion. It was a toss-up to determine which had come first.

Around noon, the rumbling of a large stomach woke the prince. He groaned as the bright sunlight hit his eyes and immediately buried his face in Goku's neck. That caused many of his stiff muscles to protest.

"I will never, _ever_ have sex all night then sleep for several hours on the ground again," he swore.

"But you really seemed to enjoy it," Goku muttered sleepily. "Especially when my mouth found your-"

Vegeta covered his mouth and blushed. "Just don't tell anyone about that, okay?"

The younger Saiya-jin only grinned.

He slowly sat up, assessing the damage he'd done to his body. His neck, shoulders, and legs were stiff, his lower back ached, and his ass was almost completely numb, but it was nothing a little massage wouldn't take care of. "Kakarotto, can you-?"

_"Wowie! What performances!"_ The angel enthused as he appeared before Vegeta's face. In all honesty, the ouji had forgotten that he'd seen everything from last night. _"Overall, I give you a nine-point-five, Vegeta. You lost points in the eroticism category. If only you had begged him or screamed just a little louder...."_

_"Can you _please_ leave me alone today?"_

_"Why, Veggie? It's so fun!"_

Goku raised his head to gaze at the spectacle he saw before his face. Who would have thought that all those times the ouji burst out into sudden annoyance or anger had been the cause of a chibi angel Vegeta? He would have never believed it if he didn't live the life he did. _"So_ you're _the reason Vegeta tends to act a little insane sometimes."_

Both Vegeta and his little chibi counterpart's eyes opened wide when his voice invaded both of their minds. _"The psychic bond must be the reason you can see me now,"_ the angel mused. The he grinned. _"SUGOI!"_

Big Vegeta was just as happy. _"I'm not crazy!"_

Then the chibi devil decided to make an appearance. _"I'm so disappointed with you, Vegeta. You weren't supposed to bond with that baka, you were supposed to kill him!" _Having not heard the previous conversation, he had no idea that Goku could hear every single word he said.

_"Why was he supposed to kill me?"_

The devil yelped and quickly flew backward away from the large Saiya-jin. _"You can _hear_ me?! That shouldn't be possible!"_

_"Well, it is. Now answer the question."_

_"Um..."_ The devil was embarrassed and that always made him angry. He shook his tiny fist in Goku's direction, but it was pretty hard to look menacing when you were six inches tall. _"YOU ARE A THIRD-CLASS BAKA, UNFIT EVEN TO LICK THE SAIYA-JIN NO OUJI'S BOOT!"_

Vegeta blinked. _"I think I may have said that already... But I didn't mean it!"_ He hastily added when he saw Goku's hurt look. The ouji glared at the little devil. _"I've told you before that you'll never get what you want from me. Leave me the hell alone!"_

Goku felt the distress coming from his mate in waves. Vegeta was worried that he would eventually give in to the devil's wishes and go around causing random destruction and mayhem. Goku knew, deep within his heart, that his ouji would never do evil things again, but Vegeta still harbored a tiny kernel of doubt.

_"He isn't like than anymore,"_ Goku told the dark chibi firmly, _"and never will be again."_

_"You can't be sure of that; no one can."_ He turned towards Vegeta and his lips twisted up into a smirk._ "You know you want to let go. Stop pretending to be something that you're not. Once evil, always evil."_

Vegeta hesitated in his answer. What if he was right? What if he'd never really changed? Just as the uncertainty threatened to overwhelm him, he felt Goku's strong presence come to the fore of his mind. No doubt came from the younger Saiya-jin; there was only absolute certainty of his goodness.

_"I worked hard to become a good person for the sake of my children, my mate, and myself. No one will ever persuade me to return to my old ways. You being here is just a waste of time, devil."_

_"I will never give up!"_ the chibi vowed before he disappeared.

"As long as I have you by my side, I will always have the willpower to resist temptation," Vegeta told Goku. Tears immediately sprang to the larger man's eyes and he crushed his mate to him in a hug. The ouji gasped and his eyes bulged outward at the pressure. "Kakarotto! Air!"

"Gomen nasai, 'geta!" Goku exclaimed as he released him. "Guess I don't know my own strength sometimes."

_"I'm going to take off just in case you guys want to get around to reaching six."_ The angel waved. _"Ja ne!" _He vanished in a small puff of white smoke.

"Reach six?" Vegeta asked aloud. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before shaking their heads and saying in unison, "Not today!"

***

Goten was keeping Trunks and Bra company as they waited for their fathers to come home. Vegeta hadn't kept his word to Bra about returning before she woke the next morning, but the little girl wasn't upset. Her papa was happy and that's all that mattered.

"When do you think they'll get here?" Goten asked curiously. "Must have had a _great_ time last night 'cause they're still asleep!"

Trunks covered up Bra's ears. "Not in front of the chibi!"

She frowned and pushed him away. "I'm not an idiot, Trunks. I know that papa and Goku-san did their bonding ritual thingy last night. I know that you finish things up with sex. Hai," she said when the expression on her brother's face turned to shock, "I know about sex. The ritual was like a wedding ceremony and people usually have sex afterward on their honeymoon."

"How do you know about things like that?! You're only eight years old!"

Bra grew sad as she remembered. "When kaasan found out that she was.... dying, she talked to me about sex. She didn't know if papa would tell me anything and wanted to be sure just in case."

"He would have told you," Trunks said, completely sure of it. "Papa wouldn't want someone to take advantage of you because you didn't know anything."

Goten suddenly raised his head towards the ceiling. "Vegeta's ki suddenly rose, but tousan's is still the same. He must be angry."

"When isn't he?" Trunks asked.

"Iie, it's different this time," Goten frowned. "More of a righteous anger."

"Ah." The younger demi-Saiya-jin had always been better at interpreting changes in ki signatures. Goku was very good at it, as well.

About ten minutes later, the two of them appeared next to the living room sofa. "Hi everybody!" Goku greeted.

Bra grinned. "Hi Doctor Nick!" Everyone burst into laughter except Vegeta who didn't really see what was funny. "You see, Papa, Dr. Nick is from The Simpsons and he...." She trailed off when his puzzled expression didn't change. "Nevermind."

"Did you have a nice evening?" Goten asked with a smile.

"Definitely," Goku answered at the same time Vegeta said, "It's none of your business."

Bra began to jump up and down. "We have gifts for you! Wait right here, okay? I'm gonna go get mine." She raced upstairs before either could even open their mouth. Thrusting a flat rectangular box in their direction, Bra stood back and carefully watched their expressions as they opened it.

"It's a photo album," Trunks said. "From Bra and me. We put in special pictures of all of your children and left a lot of room in the back for you to add your own."

"Arigatou, Trunks. Arigatou, Bra. It's a very nice gift." Goku was truly touched. Then Goten brought out his gift.

"Don't open this until you're in private," he grinned as he handed them a large square box. Goku shook it a little.

"What's inside?"

He moved closer to whisper in his ear. "Tons of whipped cream and chocolate syrup."

Goku blushed. "Are you serious?!"

"Yep. Now you can make Saiya-jin Sundaes." Goten hugged his father. "Congratulations, Tousan." He embraced Vegeta. "Congratulations, Papa. Welcome to the family."

***

By just watching their facial expressions and body language, you could tell that both Goku and Vegeta were completely in love. Neither would let the other out of his sight for very long and they touched at every opportunity. Goten became depressed just by observing them. Oh, he was happy that they'd discovered true bliss, but he wanted the same for himself.

None of the people he'd ever gone out with, male or female, had that special something that kept him coming back for more. Goten had found fault with every last one. Too short, too tall, too clingy, too flirtatious, talks too much.... It was as if no person on Chikyuu was good enough for him.

Actually, there _was_ one...

Trunks had been his best-friend for as long as he could remember. His earliest memory was of the older demi-Saiya-jin dumping sand down his diaper at a park. Despite Trunks' practical jokes and often rude behavior, they'd become like family.

Now, though, Goten wanted to make the young man into something more. The urge wasn't new -- it had existed ever since he'd hit puberty --, but he never had enough courage to do something about it before. Things were different now. Their fathers had fallen in love and bonded in every way possible, paving the way for their closeted son. Trunks wasn't against their relationship and, because his father liked men, there was at least a fifty percent chance he did as well.

If only he had just a little bit more courage.

"What's on your mind, son?" Goku asked after he watched Goten stare off into space for ten nearly minutes. It was after dinner and they were the only two left at the table.

Goten glanced around to make sure that no one else was around to overhear. "Can I ask you a hypothetical question?"

"Sure."

"What if, hypothetically, I was in love with someone that I don't think loves me back? At least, not in the way I want."

"How long have you known this person?" Goku grinned when Goten frowned. "Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"A long time. A _very_ long time."

"It seems to me that you should just tell this person how you feel. How do you think they would react?"

Goten shrugged. "Sometimes I think they would be okay with it. Other times, some of the comments they make causes me to think that maybe telling them wouldn't be a very good idea."

Goku smiled knowingly at him. "Are they male or female?"

"Hypothetically speaking...." Goten sighed. "Aw, screw it. I'm talking about Trunks. Do you think he loves me the way that I love him?"

"That's not for me to say. If Trunks wants you to know the answer to that, he'll let you know himself." Goku patted his shoulder on his way out of the room. "Whatever you choose to do about this, I'm behind you all the way."

He smiled. "Arigatou, Tousan. I'll do the right thing and make you proud."

"Goten, you always make me proud." Goku kissed him on the top of his head and left him to his thoughts.

***

"I have a friend that needs advice, Papa," Trunks said as he dried the dishes his father washed. The dishwasher needed repairing.

One dark eyebrow rose. "And you came to _me_? What about Kakarotto or Goten?"

"Er, iie. You're the best person for the job, believe it or not."

Vegeta stared at him, but said nothing for a moment. "What's your friend's problem?"

"There's this person that he likes..."

"Does he think they're not interested?"

Trunks shook his head. "Oh, iie. I-, um, _he_ doesn't have that problem. He doesn't know how to be with them."

"I don't understand."

"There are certain things expected of him, you know? Being with this person will definitely prevent him from fulfilling some wishes. I thought you would understand this because you felt that a relationship between you and tousan would never work out. My friend thinks that the expectations would come between them."

His father stopped playing the game, and gave his advice directly to the person who really sought it. "Trunks, you are not my only heir and my blood still has a chance to be passed on through Bra. Is there anything else you think that your mother and I expected of you?"

He sighed and stood with his elbows on the counter. "Kaasan willed Capsule Corp. to me and, when I die, I'll have no one to pass it on to. I know that neither she or ojiisan would want it to leave the family."

"Who said that you'll never have any children?" Vegeta inquired. "You could take in a kid that none of the ningen want. Um, adopt."

Trunks sighed. "I guess..."

Drying his hands off, he folded his arms across his chest and acquired a stern look (something he was definitely good at). "Answer a few questions for me, boy."

His son stood up straight reflexively and nodded. "Hai, sir."

"Does this man make you happy?"

"Hai."

"Can you imagine a life without him?"

"Iie."

"Will you forget about what other people might want and focus on your own happiness?"

Trunks smiled. "Hai."

"Good." He smiled slightly at him. "Goten will be lucky you have you."

The kitchen door opened and Goten walked in. "Trunks..."

"Goten..."

In unison, they said: "I have something to tell you."

Vegeta left the room with a self-satisfied smile on his face. "Damn, I'm good."


	7. Part 1, Chapter 7

**A/N:** Chapters seven, eight, and nine are also going to be my Christmas-related Dragon Ball thing for this year. I can't see myself writing something in addition to this. That sort of sucks, though, because I have a really good idea for a humor fic.

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part I: Distant Dreams)**

**Chapter 7**

Bra woke everyone up bright and early (seven-thirty a.m.) to propose an idea. Since Christmas was just around the corner (in less than a week actually), she thought they should all head over to the mall to purchase the gifts she knew they forgot. Since no one had bought anything, the men had to admit it was a good idea.

After holding a brief funeral ceremony over the death of her piggy bank (one that everyone was forced to attend), Bra took her life's savings of 77,926 zenni ($635 or £408) and crammed it into her wallet. "Jeez, I need a credit card."

"Are you ready to go yet, Bra?" Trunks called from across the hall. As soon as the eulogy was over, he'd gone back to his room to finish dressing.

"In a minute!" After figuring that her wad of bills just weren't going to fit into the wallet, she grabbed the backpack purse her mother bought for her seventh birthday from the back of the closet and dropped it inside. "With room to spare."

Vegeta was rummaging through the fridge and Goku was commenting about everything he started to select. "That'll rot your teeth, 'geta. How about eating some cereal?"

"Don't have enough cereal for five people, baka. We don't have enough of anything."

"We can go to McDonald's!" Goten suggested with a grin. "Oh please, can we go?"

Goku nodded and shut the fridge door, narrowly missing Vegeta's fingers. "Sure, son!"

Vegeta frowned. "What if I don't want to go to McDonald's? What if I want to eat chocolate?" Goku leaned down and whispered something into his ear that made him blush. The next thing they knew, Vegeta was outside the front door. "Come on, people! I don't have all day!"

After causing the restaurant to shut its doors after only being open for two hours, the five Saiya-jin headed off to the Satan City mall. Just like its namesake city, the mall contained a giant fountain of Satan-san in the center.

"Every time I see his stupid grinning face, I want to spit in it," Vegeta muttered as he stared up at the stone figure. "Why hasn't he died by now?"

"Because his luck hasn't run out yet," Trunks answered. "The man has more lives than a cat."

Bra was tired of all the "die Satan-san" talk that she always heard. "Forget about him, okay? Let's just shop till we drop!" She grabbed Vegeta's hand. "I'm goin' with papa and tousan!"

"Fine with me," Trunks shrugged.

She grabbed both Saiya-jin's hands and swung them happily. "First stop is the toy store, okay? I'm gonna make a list."

"I'm damn glad your mother willed me some money." Goku smiled at his mate, knowing that he would have found a way to buy Bra what she wanted even if he was completely broke.

"I need to go there, too. Gotta shop for Pan-chan, you know."

The little girl's eyes lit up at the mention of his granddaughter's name. "I'm her aunt, aren't I? That is so cool!"

Once inside the huge Toys N' Stuff store, Bra immediately ran off with a notepad and a pencil. Vegeta, not really knowing what to do, followed Goku.

"What are you going to buy her?" he asked.

"The best presents in the store." Goku stopped in front of a gigantic doll house that was almost as large six-year-old Pan. "Gotta get all of the accessories, too." Underneath the display was the house itself (unassembled of course), dolls, furniture, and other home-related things. He sent Vegeta back to the front of the store for a shopping cart.

Vegeta eyes widened with every object he placed into the cart. "Do you even have any money?"

"Sure I do. Remember the last tournament? I won first place, you know. Then there's the money from ChiChi's life insurance since she wanted to be cremated. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I spent it on Pan-chan."

Placing his hand over his Goku's as the younger man placed yet another thing into the shopping cart, Vegeta smiled. "I'll go half with you. These gifts can be from both of us."

"Great!" he cheered as he jogged down the aisle while pushing the cart. "Let's go get more stuff!"

"Kakarotto, that wasn't permission to go crazy!"

***

"I want this and this and this and... Ooh! Of course I want this!" Bra scribbled rapidly as she went through the store. She stopped in the middle of the video game aisle and added a game to her hand basket. "Goten will like this one."

Goku stopped as he passed by. "Hey, Bra. How's it coming?"

"Great, Tousan! I'm almost one-fourth of the way done with my list!"

"How many things are on it?" Vegeta asked.

She smiled innocently. "Only about twenty...."

"And you're only one-fourth of the way done?!"

His mate waved his hand dismissively. "Stop acting as if you're shocked. Bra's just taking advantage of a good thing."

She smiled again, brighter this time. Vegeta felt his tiny amount of resistance fade away. "Oh, alright Bra," he gave in. "I don't know why I let you do this to me."

"Because I'm your little princess and you love me." She hugged him and skipped off. "Thank you, Papa and Tousan! Ai shiteru!"

"Aw!" Goku cooed as he thrust a five foot tall teddy bear into Vegeta's arms. The cart was becoming a little too full. "You're such a nice guy, 'geta."

"Do you think Pan really needs a stuffed animal this big, Kakarotto? Hell, it's almost larger than I am!"

Goku looked at the bear and then at something else. "You think she would like a laptop more?"

Vegeta shook his head and hid a smile. "Let's stick with the bear."

They shopped for twenty minutes more and found Bra standing open-mouthed in the bike aisle. "Ooh!"

"You like that one?" her papa asked after he followed her gaze.

"Very, very much! It's got eighteen speeds, hand brakes, a water bottle, and a handlebar pouch!" She pointed to the shelf behind her. "I could even get a license plate with my name on it! If you get me nothing else, please get me this bike."

Neither man could say no. "We'll see," Goku told her.

The total amount of Pan's presents came to 52,094.09 zenni ($424.50 or £272.87). Bra, on the other hand, only spent 6,134.70 ($49.99 or £32.13). Vegeta talked Bra into carrying a few of the nine bags and they moved onward to another store.

"I have to get something for Trunks," she said as they walked toward the department store. "You wanna come with?" Her papa gave her a look and she grinned. "I know, I know. I'm only eight; of course you're coming with."

"What does he like, anyway?" Goku asked curiously. "I know what I'm going to get Goten: a gift certificate for McDonald's. Hmm, do they even have them?"

"Hai, Tousan. Your certificate's going to have to be more than Pan's gifts combined because Goten-niichan eats too much."

"Oi, Goku!" They heard a voice call from behind them. The three of them turned and each had a different reaction on their faces. Vegeta groaned, Bra giggled, and Goku grinned.

The younger Saiya-jin bowed before his sensei. "Konnichi-wa, Kamesennin. How's it going?" Both Bra and Vegeta stared at him when Goku put a clueless expression on his face. It was one they hadn't seen for a _very_ long time.

"Things have been great, especially since Kuririn and Juuhachi-gou have moved out." The old man grinned. "They were disrupting my flow."

Vegeta snorted. "What flow? No sane female would want _you_, Roshi."

"That wasn't very nice, Papa," Bra said, but she laughed anyway.

Roshi waved away his comment. "Whatever. Look, Goku, we're having a Christmas party at my house on the 24th and everyone's invited. I called your house earlier and it's like no one's ever home." One eyebrow rose. "Where are you all day? Sparring with Vegeta?"

"Um, hai. I'm always over at the Capsule Corp." A light bulb seemed to snap on over his head. "How about having the party there? I don't mind." Then it hit him what he said and he hurried to correct himself. "I mean _Vegeta_ doesn't mind. Hehehe."

"Oh, really? He seems less than thrilled at the suggestion to me."

The ouji was, in fact, wholeheartedly against it. Well, he was until Goku mentally pleaded with him. '_I can use the time to tell them about us, 'geta. Christmas usually warms people's hearts._'

'_Why do you have to tell them anything? It's not any of their business._'

'_They're my friends, you know that. I don't want to keep any secrets from them._'

A lengthy pause, then. '_Alright._'

Goku smiled. "How about making it a Christmas slumber party? Everyone can bring their presents over and put them underneath the tree."

"_What_ tree?" Bra asked.

"The one we're gonna buy today."

Vegeta immediately opened his mouth to protest and one look from Goku made him close it again. "Hmph."

"I'll start calling people as soon as I return home. See you later, Goku. Bra." Roshi barely glanced at the ouji. "Vegeta."

"Sayonara, Pervert," he sneered. "Good riddance!"

As soon as Roshi was out of hearing range, Bra put her hands on her hips and frowned at her tousan. "What was that all about?"

"Nani?" Goku asked with false innocence.

"Don't give me that! You aren't a baka, why in the world did you act like one just now?"

Vegeta nodded. "That's a very good question."

He tried to avoid answering, but neither would let it go. "Look, they're all used to me acting like an idiot, okay? Very few people know the real me."

"Why hide from them, Tousan? They're supposed to be your friends, right?"

"Well, hai, but it's not that simple. If I suddenly deviated from what they know as the norm, they'd wonder why I waited so long. What will I tell them?"

Both Bra and Vegeta answered at the same time. "The truth."

"I can try, anyway."

***

Trunks and Goten sat in the very back of the mall movie theater in a corner that probably hadn't seen a mop in quite some time. In fact, Trunks was pretty sure that the employees had all but forgotten about it. "All this to make out," he grumbled as he pulled his foot from the floor in a loud sucking noise. "My shoes will never be the same."

"Shh! The movie's starting!"

For the first ten minutes they watched in silence, Goten stuffing popcorn into his mouth and Trunks eating Sour Patch Kids. Once the younger demi-Saiya-jin's food was gone, though, he wanted to move on to something a little more involved...

The next thing Trunks knew, Goten's mouth was descending upon his. There wasn't a prelude, he just went straight to the main event. "Are you trying to suck the air right out of my body?" Trunks gasped as Goten moved away. It wasn't that he didn't _like_ it, just would have been better at reduced speed.

"Oh, gomen nasai, Trunks." He kissed the length of his neck with agonizing slowness. "Is this better?" The lavender-haired man claimed his lips again and Goten grinned.

"Why are you guys over here in the corner?" asked a voice. The two of them immediately jumped apart and tried to act as if they hadn't been doing a thing. "Don't even try to act like you weren't making out. Can't say that I'm surprised."

Trunks looked over to the left from the corner of his eye. He sighed in relief when he saw who it was. "Marron!"

The blond teenager grinned. "That's my name, don't wear it out."

"What are you doing here?" Goten asked.

Marron sat down in the seat beside Trunks. "Watching the movie, something the two of your aren't." Both of them blushed and she laughed. "Oh, it's okay. If I were here with someone even half as sexy as you two, I wouldn't be watching it either."

The Capsule Corp. heir didn't know whether to be embarrassed or flattered. He settled on a combination of the two. "Um...."

"Hey, don't mind me. Just go back to what you were doing before I announced my presence."

"How long were you watching before you said anything?" Goten asked.

"Not very long; about two minutes."

He groaned. "That's two minutes too long!" Goten said that a little too loudly and was shushed by at least five people. "Hey, I'm trying to have a conversation here!"

"Forget about it, Goten. The mood's broken; we might as well watch the movie I paid for."

Marron was feeling a little guilty. "I ruined things for you, didn't I? I'm sorry."

Trunks waved away her apology. "Don't worry about it. Goten and I have the rest of our lives."

After the movie, they walked the mall with Marron until lunchtime. She waved goodbye to them and went looking for her parents (who were also Christmas shopping). The two demi- Saiya-jin found a place to eat (McDonald's, of course) and waited for the other three to show up.

"We didn't do much shopping," Goten said as he eyed their two bags. Before the movie, they'd spent majority of their time waiting in the check out line at Pringle's. Goten had brought Bra an outfit and Vegeta a tee that had "I'm too sexy for this shirt." on it. Trunks had bought himself a pair of shoes.

"There's still a few days before Christmas, we've got plenty of time." He looked up and spotted Bra, Goku, and Vegeta coming towards them. His little sister was pulling a huge wagon loaded down with at least seven bags and his fathers were each carrying four more. "Well, _they_ won't have visit the stores again."

"Hi, guys!" Bra said cheerfully before she parked the wagon and went up to order her food. Goku and Vegeta exchanged smiles when they heard Trunks' comment.

"Oh, most of this stuff is Pan's. We still have to come back for Bra." Goku shrugged when his two sons gave him looks of incredulity. "I just couldn't resist."

Bra deposited her _very_ full tray onto the table and began to separate her food by type. "I bought some presents for people, but I'm not even close to being finished." She paused for a moment to eat a cheeseburger while Goku and Vegeta went to order. "What do you think they'd want for Christmas?"

Goten shrugged. "They'll probably love whatever you give them."

"I know, but I want it to be special!" She pursed her lips in thought. "I still have about 69,495 zenni left so I could get them something really good."

"And still buy presents for everyone you want to?"

Sighing, she said, "Iie."

"Buy for everyone else first, then think about them. You could even make them something."

Bra opened her mouth to say something else, but abruptly closed it when her fathers returned to the table. Vegeta studiously ignored the silence, but Goku looked around the table. "Okay, what's going on?"

"Nothing," the three of them chorused.

"Hmm," he hummed, unconvinced. Eventually shrugging, he started in on his small mountain of food.

Ten minutes later, they were all stuffed and had acquired a crowd of onlookers who had made bets about how much they could eat. Most of the ningen thought Bra wouldn't last three burgers but, of course, she proved all of them wrong. They may have been surprised at the little girl, but they were definitely surprised at Goku and Goten. None of them thought that the Son men could actually eat their own weight in food.

"I made a lot off those people," Vegeta smiled as he counted his cash. "That'll teach them not to judge a book by its cover."

"It wasn't really fair of you to even bet, 'geta. You knew we could eat that much."

"Hai, but _they_ didn't know that."

Goku and Vegeta went on home to begin wrapping the gifts, while the three kids stayed at the mall several more hours. Bra eventually settled on a twenty-four carat gold id bracelet for Trunks and an engraved gold-plated heart-shaped plaque for the two full Saiya-jin. It read on the front: Kakarotto and Vegeta. Bonded December 19th. A love to last forever.


	8. Part 1, Chapter 8

**A/N:** Majin means "devil" in English. Just thought you'd like to know. =)

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part I: Distant Dreams)**

**Chapter 8**

"I can't believe I let him talk me into this," Vegeta grumbled to himself as he shoved yet another batch of cookies into the oven. "Worse yet, I can't believe I'm baking!" He removed the oven mitts from his hands and thought back to Goku's words of just a few hours ago.

_"Can you cook for the party today and tomorrow, 'geta? Your food always tastes so good."_

"One word from that baka and I'm mixing up cookie batter."

The kitchen door silently opened and a small figure tip-toed across the kitchen floor. She was just a foot away from the table when her papa caught her. "Bra, if you lay one finger on those cookies I'm going to hit you."

She grinned. "No, you won't! You know that threats don't mean anything when the person you're threatening doesn't believe you." Snatching a cookie, she skipped from the kitchen. "Ja, Papa!"

In the family room, Trunks and Goten were arguing about the placement of the six-foot tall Christmas tree. "It needs to be over just a little bit more to the right, Chibi!" the older demi-Saiya-jin said.

"Iie, Trunks! It should stay right where it is!"

"Move it!"

"Leave it alone!"

"SHUT UP!" Bra shouted. Both of her brothers stared at her in mute shock. "That's better. I think the tree should be moved an few inches to the left." They did what she said and, smiling, Bra went to find more wrapping paper.

"When is everyone coming over?" Goten asked curiously. He wondered how much time he had to run back to the mall for Trunks' gift. It would be crowded on Christmas Eve, but the sale prices would be worth it.

Trunks came from behind the tree and dusted the pine needles from his clothes. "They'll probably start arriving around five this evening." '_That'll give me enough time to get his gift. It should be ready by this afternoon._'

Vegeta cooked all morning and afternoon with the others helping him along the way. By four o'clock he felt that there was enough to feed two full Saiya-jin, four demi-Saiya-jin, a quarter Saiya-jin, ten ningen, two animals, and two others (Buu and Chaozu).

"It's almost five o'clock, is everyone ready?" Goku called.

Bra hopped into the room on one foot, struggling with her shoe. "I'm ready."

"Us, too," Trunks examined himself in the hall mirror and gently moved a strand of hair into place. "Looking good," he told his reflection with a smile. Goten promptly moved it back with a flick of his finger and took the comb from his boyfriend's hands.

"You can't reach it! Nyah-Nyah!"

He hopped and hopped, but Goten's arm was just a little too high. "DAMN MY SHORT GENES!"

"If either of you break anything in there, I'm kicking your ass!" Vegeta called from the kitchen. Goten immediately stopped playing around and straightened Trunks' hair.

"There you go," Goten said with a smile. He kissed Trunks on the nose just as he opened the door.

Marron grinned at them. "You two are so lucky that it's only me." She pushed a bag full of gifts into Trunks' arms, one into Goten's, and set her overnight bag next to the door as she removed her outerwear. "Does anyone else besides me know about you two?"

"Well, not anyone outside of this house..." Trunks replied as he deposited her presents in the family room. "_You_ wouldn't have known if you hadn't bumped into us."

"The right place at the right time." She lowered her voice. "Does Vegeta-san know? He's not the most accepting of things..."

Goten burst into laughter and covered his mouth. His boyfriend elbowed him in the side. "Let's just say that I don't think it'll be a problem."

"Konban-wa, minna," Kuririn greeted as he and Juuhachi-gou entered the house. "It looks like we're early."

"Hai, Tousan. We're the first." Marron walked into the other room and just stared at the tree. "Nice, but don't you think it's a little bare?"

"We're gonna trim the tree when everyone gets here," Bra answered as she entered. She ran over and gave Marron a big hug. "Hi Marron! What did you buy me for Christmas?"

The blond teen smiled. "You'll just have to wait and see like everyone else."

"Kakarotto you baka! It says to add a teaspoon of salt, not a tablespoon! What the hell do you think tsp stands for?!" Vegeta shouted from the kitchen.

"Oops, gomen nasai 'geta." The six of them just stared at the kitchen door and, a few seconds later, Goku ran out of the room. "Wow, he's real protective of his mixing bowl."

Kuririn just stared at him for a minute. "Are you saying that Vegeta's really in there? And he's _cooking_?!"

Bra nodded. "Hai, Kuririn-san. Papa's the best."

"I don't believe it." He shook his head. "That's the man who came to Chikyuu to kill us and steal the dragonballs."

The little girl opened her mouth to respond when she saw the anger on Goku's face. Wisely getting far away from the short man as fast as possible, she watched the confrontation on the other side of the room.

"You don't know him, Kuririn. Vegeta changed a long time ago."

"Into what?" he asked with a laugh. The humor faded from his face when he realized that his best-friend was less than amused. "Okay, Goku, okay. He's changed. Since when are you his guardian?" The large Saiya-jin declined to answer.

After a moment of awkward silence, Juuhachi-gou pulled Kuririn towards the family room and Vegeta called Goku from the kitchen. "Kakarotto, could you come in here for a moment?" His voice was unusually soft.

Bra smiled and moved to stand guard by the door. No one would be interrupting her fathers' special moment, not if she could help it.

***

By six, nearly everyone had arrived and there were at least two hundred presents piled in the family room. Bra was helping Trunks and Goten retrieve the decorations from storage while Vegeta and Goku arranged the baked goodies on serving trays.

"Goku-ojiichan!" Pan called out as she ran across the room to wrap herself around Goku's legs. "What did ya get me?"

Bra grinned at her. "A lot. You see that huge pile of presents over there by the window?"

"That's all mine?!"

"Tousan," Gohan immediately protested. "You're spoiling her."

Goku placed the his tray on the coffee table where it was descended upon by a ravenous dark-haired demi-Saiya-jin. "She's my grandchild, son, and this might be my only chance to do this."

"There's still Goten."

The teen lifted his head at the sound of his name and made a "Huh?" noise around a mouthful of cookies. He swallowed and said, "There's still me _what_, niichan?"

"You have yet to start a family. When are you going to find someone to settle down with, Goten? You aren't getting any younger." Gohan had, whether he was aware of it or not, taken over nagging for his departed mother. Goten hadn't liked it when she was alive and wondered what he had ever done to deserve it after her death.

He glared at his eldest brother. "That's none of your business."

"I'm only looking out for you!"

"Well, I don't need you to do that anymore. I'm a grown man, Gohan, and I can make my own decisions!"

Goku decided to interfere. "It's Christmas Eve! Can't we just have a nice two-day party?" Goten gave in first and returned to his seat next to Trunks with a nod. Gohan's frown grew even fiercer, but he nodded as well.

Vegeta came into the room, folded his arms across his chest, and took charge. "Listen up, minna! Here's the plan for this evening. First, we will decorate that tree and put a huge amount of gifts underneath it, then we will decorate this house. Is this acceptable?"

Bra raised her hand. "Can we listen to music while we decorate?"

"Hai," he answered even as his right eye twitched. Holiday music was, in his opinion, the most annoying thing on Chikyuu next to ChiChi's voice. Or at least next to the people trying to sing along with it. He wished that he could make it a rule that only people who could carry a tune could open their mouth.

As Goten put on a CD, Trunks started twining lights into the tree's branches. Bra went behind him and undid his work with a smile on her face. When he reached the top of the tree, he let the lights go and watched them fall to the floor. "What the...?" He heard high-pitched giggling and followed it to the source. "Bra!"

"Gotcha!" she crowed. He lunged at her and she dodged, shrieking with laughter. While Trunks chased her through the house, Goten and Pan took over. Most of everyone else were sorting ornaments.

"These look like antiques," Videl said as she carefully examined a box of glass ornaments. Vegeta snorted. He could remember clearly the day they'd been purchased.

_"Here, Vegeta," Bulma said as she handed him a box of Christmas adornments. "Bra broke most of the ones we had last year."_

_The prince frowned. "I don't see the point of this."_

_"This is the time of year to celebrate life, spread cheer, and spent time with your family. You could at least be a little more jolly for the kids' sake."_

"745 zenni at Shop and Save," he smiled. He removed another string of lights from the box and shrugged at their guests' surprised looks. "Nani?"

Goku grinned and joined him. _"Arigatou for showing them your soft side."_

_"Your friends are trying my patience, Kakarotto. You owe me big."_

_"Just wait until later. I promise that you won't be disappointed."_ Vegeta's mouth transformed into a grin to rival his mate's.

Yamucha scratched his head. "Did I miss something? Usually the only time you see a look like that on Vegeta's face is when he's about to kill someone."

"And I know who I'll be starting with if you don't shut up, weakling."

"Now _that's_ the Vegeta we all know and love!" He grinned despite the threat he'd just received.

After the lights and tinsel were on, everyone set upon the task of placing ornaments. Pan and Bra did the lowest branches, the three Son males did the highest, everyone else filled in the middle, and Piccolo stood in a corner and watched.

"Come on over, Piccolo-san," Gohan coaxed. "You do this every single year."

"I'm not a Christmas person, you know that."

"Even _Vegeta's_ helping!" he handed his wife the box he had in his hands and moved over to stand by his former sensei. "It's not just that, is it? You're staring at Vegeta-san pretty intensely, Piccolo-san."

Piccolo relaxed his facial muscles and blinked. "You don't feel it? I thought I taught you better than that."

Gohan concentrated and sensed something in Vegeta's ki he'd never felt before: contentment. "Who is he and what has he done with Vegeta-san?"

"It's startling.... until you turn your senses toward your father." Piccolo watched his face closely and hid a smirk when the demi-Saiya-jin eyes widened.

"What's going on here?! First Vegeta-san's cooking, now he's content!" Gohan gasped as he nearly felt the affection both Saiya-jin felt when their eyes locked for a brief second. "I'm dreaming. This is all a bad dream."

The Namek-jin rolled his eyes at the young man's obvious aversion. "That's obviously only in the eye of the beholder. Vegeta and Goku appear to be very happy."

"Who's ready for dinner?" Trunks asked from the entrance to the dining room. He quickly flattened himself against the wall when thirteen people rushed past him. The Saiya-jin because, well, they were Saiya-jin and the ningen because they at least wanted one serving. The lavender-haired young man laughed at them and took his seat next to Goten. "Papa cooked all day, you guys. I'm sure there will be enough for everyone." Many of the guests exchanged glances, but no one said anything until....

Hannah, Yamucha's newest girlfriend, complemented the chef. She was a curvy beauty with red-gold hair and green eyes. "Vegeta-san, this is fantastic. Where did you study?"

Vegeta all but glowed with pride. "In outer space. When there's no choice other than Nappa's cooking, you learn how pretty quickly. It's either that or die of starvation."

"Couldn't Raditzu cook?" Goku asked after he'd finished chewing and swallowing. He'd learned over the years that it was better to remember to do the right thing the first time and avoid ChiChi's wrath.

"Your brother? Cook? Ha!" The ouji shook his head with an amused expression on his face. "I was lucky if he knew how to work the shower! Raditzu wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer by a long shot." He pushed his plate away. "Who's ready for dessert?"

"ME!" all the Saiya-jin except Gohan shouted at the top of their lungs.

Vegeta nodded to Trunks. "Bring it in, boy."

"Aw, why do _I_ have to do it?" he complained.

"You're the closest to the doorway and, if that's not a good enough reason, because I SAID SO!"

Trunks jumped to his feet and all nearly ran from the room. He returned a few moments later with a very large tray covered with sugar-filled treats. There was a cake, the remainder of the cookies, a few pies, and the batch of brownies that Goku had almost ruined. Vegeta placed the chocolate bars in front of his mate.

"I've tasted these. They're all yours, Kakarotto."

"Really? Domo arigatou, 'geta!" Goku dug in and Vegeta snickered.

"Oh, I wouldn't be thanking me just yet." Everyone started laughing when the younger man's face twisted up. "I tried to take some of the salt out and couldn't get it all. It's like they've taken a dip in the ocean."

Goku nodded. "Oh yeah, they're pretty bad all right."

"Never thought I'd live to see the day when Goku refused to eat something," Kuririn laughed.

During the clean up portion of the meal, the doorbell rang. Bra was the first out of her chair and ran into the entry hall. "Meri Kurisumasu, minna-san! Santa Roshi's in the house and I've brought presents!"

"Just put them by the tree, Kamesennin," Bra called as she and Pan went up to her room. Roshi went into the family room and made a startled noise.

"_You're_ the ones who stole from the toy factory!"

Goten chuckled. "Looks like it, doesn't it? Would you believe that a large portion of those gifts belong to Pan and Bra?"

"Oh, I believe it. They're the two most spoiled little girls in the entire world."

"Can I speak to you for a minute, Tousan?" Gohan asked once the table was cleared. "In private," he added when the older man didn't move.

He didn't like the emotion he sensed from his son, but consented anyway. '_Goten was right about his niichan. This isn't going to be pleasant._' They went outside near the place where Vegeta's gravity chamber used to be. After the last time he destroyed it, Bulma refused to repair it. She used the remains on other projects instead. "I know what this is about."

Gohan's eyebrows rose. "Oh, really?"

"Hai. Somehow you sensed the change in Vegeta and searched for the reason why. I am that reason."

"I wouldn't have noticed if Piccolo-san hadn't told me about it." He seemed a little upset by this, but that was one of the consequences lapsed training caused. "Why Vegeta, Tousan? If you had to find another so soon, why couldn't it have been someone who didn't have homicidal urges towards us?"

Goku sighed. "I've questioned myself more than once about it. Why Vegeta? Why a man? Why someone who claimed to hate me for so long? There is an answer, but I don't know if you'll understand."

"Try me."

He looked upward towards the heavens as if silently praying for the strength to handle the talk. He received an answer in the form of reassurance from Vegeta through their connection. "Ever since the day I met him it was as if I had been pulled towards him by an invisible rope. No matter what he did to me, my family, or my friends, I still felt the pull.

"When we fused for the very first time, it developed into something greater. I came to understand his seemingly overbearing pride and dark ambition. That must have been when the bond began to develop."

Gohan blinked in confusion. "Bond?"

He nodded. "Hai. Before Goten explained to me what Trunks told him several years ago, I would have never known it existed. The bond is something that forms between two members of the Saiya-jin race and is cemented by the bonding ritual. You form a psychic link with your partner and mark them as your own."

"Did you do the ritual yet? I want to make a formal protest." Gohan turned away from his father when he nodded. "I can't believe this! And Goten not only knows, but he accepts this as well?"

"Hai, he does. Look son, I don't expect you to support us, but the least you can do is accept our relationship. I'm going to stay by Vegeta's side no matter what so things would be better if you did." Goku placed his hand onto his shoulder. "No matter what you decide, I'll still love you." He went back inside the house to allow his son the time to think.

While he was engaged in tense conversation with Gohan, more people had arrived. Satan-san, Buu, Yajirobi, Oolong, Tenshinhan, Lunch, and Chaozu added their gifts to the mountain and went into the kitchen for something to eat.

"I apologize for the lateness, but I had several appearances throughout the city. Christmas Eve is a very popular day for the savior of the world." Satan-san puffed out his chest and attempted to look regal. He failed miserably.

Vegeta muttered to himself about just how regal the man was and Goku elbowed him. "We're taking ideas on what to do."

"Play games?" Yamucha suggested. "The kids could do one thing and the adults something else."

"There are _only_ two children, baka," the ouji informed him. "Bra and Pan. Personally, I think people should split up based on what they want to do. If you want to play cards go off with Trunks and Goten, if you want to play Monopoly find Bra, if you have no clue then Kakarotto's your man."

Goku frowned at him in mock annoyance. "Was that an insult?"

Everyone laughed and Vegeta answered, "Only just."

They all split into different groups: Trunks, Goten, Marron, and Videl in one; Bra, Pan, Oolong, Puar, Chaozu, Yajirobi, Satan-san, and Buu in another; and Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Kuririn, Juuhachi-gou, Tenshinhan, Lunch, Yamucha, and Hannah in a third. Goku brought Trunks and Bra's game collection into the living room and they all decided on something called Discoveries.

"I don't really like the sound of that," Kuririn said. "How do you play?"

Goku opened the game board and placed it on the coffee table. "Someone picks a card and you move your token forward a space if you get the answer right. First one to cross the finish line wins. We should probably play teams since there are so many people. Piccolo, can you team up with Gohan?"

The Namek-jin gaped at him. "You want _me_ to play _this_?!"

"If you don't then I can't play," Gohan smiled up at him. "Onegai, Piccolo-san."

"Oh, alright," he grumbled as he sat down cross-legged next to the young man. "But I do so under protest."

"Great! Who wants to go first?" Goku looked around at the group and most of the players all shook their heads.

Yamucha grinned. "I will." He shuffled the cards and drew one. "What's my favorite color?" The team members consulted with each other for a moment. Team Goku was the first to respond.

"Yellow."

"Blue," was Team Gohan's response.

"Red!"

"Purple," Hannah said. "Nani?" she shrugged at his raised eyebrow. "I've only been dating you for a few days."

"None of you are right; it's green." He replaced the card in the bottom of the stack. "Do I draw again?"

Goku's forehead wrinkled in thought. "What's your second favorite color?"

"Blue."

"Then someone from Team Gohan goes next."

Piccolo suddenly found everyone staring at him. "I'm supposed to draw a card, eh?" He did so and snorted. "My favorite thing to eat."

"Water," everyone said in unison except for Hannah. She said "pizza".

"Wait, wait," she said. "How can the answer be water?"

"That's the only thing we need for sustenance."

Hannah didn't really believe him, but she nodded anyway. "Oh..."

"I'm thinking of a number from one to ten. Guess it and the turn is yours." It was the only thing Piccolo could think of to end his turn.

_"We should cheat, Kakarotto. You could read his mind and find out what he's thinking."_

Goku shook his head. _"That's dishonest."_

_"And? I would do it, if I could."_

_"You just hate to lose."_

_"Damn straight."_

So Goku did, in fact, read Piccolo's mind. He was really upset about doing so, but Vegeta sulked when he didn't get his way. "Six."

"Ten."

"Three."

"Seven."

"Goku's exactly right," Piccolo told them.

When the large Saiya-jin read the top card, his face lost all of its color. '_Someone up there has it in for me._'

_"What does it say?"_

_"What's the biggest secret you've ever hidden from your friends."_

A wash of sympathy came through the connection. _"Oh.... Remember, Kakarotto, I'm here for you if you decide to tell them."_

_"I think I'm going to. Perfect opening for it, anyway."_

"What does it say, Goku?" Kuririn asked. He told them and Gohan winced slightly. "Okay, then. I say that you don't have any secrets. We know everything about you."

Yamucha nodded. "That's our answer, too."

"It's not for me to tell," Gohan said. "I respect his privacy."

Vegeta shrugged. "He's not keeping any secrets from me, so I have no idea."

"I, um, have a secret. It's the biggest thing I've ever hidden from anyone." Goku stood up and went to the doorway. "Wait a minute, okay? It's better if everyone hears together."

"Sounds serious," Yamcha commented. Vegeta, Piccolo, and Gohan all looked away at the same time. "You three know!"

Gohan glared at the Saiya-jin no Ouji. "Piccolo and I may know, but a certain _someone_ is a part of it!"

Vegeta gave him an equally venomous look. "If you open your big mouth and tell everyone, I'm going to hurt you!"

"I knew that you weren't going to take it very well," Goten said sadly as he kneeled next to his second father. "Why can't you be happy, niichan?"

"Nothing about this makes sense! I personally think that he's done something horrible to tousan."

Kuririn exchanged bewildered looks with majority of the people crowded into the room. "I wish someone would explain what's going on."

Goku nodded. "You're all my friends -- well, at least _most_ of you are -- and you deserve to know. Many, many years ago, when Gohan was still a little boy, a Saiya-jin warrior came to Chikyuu..."

An hour later....

"I showed up just in the nick of time to save Gohan from being crushed by Nappa...."

Vegeta yawned. "Kakarotto and I are in love and we bonded last week."

His announcement caused the few that were still awake to go, "NANI?!" Their outburst was what caused everyone else to regain consciousness.

"I was going to get to it eventually, 'geta," Goku whined.

"Hai, but you were taking forever. No one wants to sit here and listen to the entire story. I know that I don't."

Pan squealed with delight and launched herself into Vegeta's arms. "I have three ojiichans now!"

Yamucha was stunned. "May I be blunt, Goku?"

"I guess so," he said warily.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! That guy's the enemy! No matter how long he stays here, he's still gonna be nothing more than pure evil! I agree with Gohan, that little ape's done something to you."

Shaking his head at the older man's obvious anger, Kuririn sided with his best-friend. "I may not understand this, but if he makes you happy then you have my blessing."

Goku smiled. "I'm _very_ happy. Arigatou, Kuririn."

"How can you accept this?" the former desert bandit asked.

"The answer is very simple," Tenshinhan said. "Goku wanted us to know, correct? It took a lot of courage to even begin to explain knowing that some of us wouldn't like it. Why condemn him for this? I can't. He'll always be my friend no matter who he falls in love with."

Vegeta glowered at each and every opposer in the group over the top of Pan's head. "If you say anything else to hurt his feelings, you'll have to answer to me. Trust me, you don't want that. Now, can we get back to his damn party?"

Groups one and two filed out of the room, many of the guests pausing to congratulate the happy couple. The sullen members of group three kept their nasty comments to themselves and peace reigned for the remainder of the night.


	9. Part 1, Chapter 9

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part I: Distant Dreams)**

**Chapter 9**

On Christmas Eve, Trunks and Goten went through with the bonding ritual. They'd decided that Goten had been the one pursuing Trunks (by his dedication to spending every single lunch hour with him) so he earned the right to leave a mark first. On exactly midnight on Christmas morning, he marked the older demi-Saiya-jin in the midst of his climax and woke up everyone in Capsule Corp. who could sense ki.

Pan sat up straight in Bra's bed and looked towards the window. "What was that?"

"Nothing, Pan-chan. Go back to sleep." Bra smiled sleepily and silently congratulated her niichans. She was just on the verge of slumber, when Gohan's impassioned cry brought her back to full wakefulness.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Bra glared in the direction it came from. "Jeez, Gohan-san. People are trying to get some sleep around here."

"He doesn't sound happy."

"He'll get over it."

A few minutes later 'not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse'.

***

At five in the morning, two _very_ excited little girls ran as fast as they could downstairs to open their presents. "I bet I got more than you did," Pan said as she sorted through the gifts.

"I bet you're wrong."

Soon wrapping paper was flying all over the room and gifts were being separated into piles: the good stuff and the bad stuff. Both girls had a lot more in the good pile than in the bad one.

"An Easy Bake Oven," Pan said dully.

Bra smiled. "I'm guessing that you didn't want one."

"Mama and Papa gave it to me. I guess they're trying to make me more of a girl." She tossed it aside and started on a box from Goku and Vegeta. "Ooh! Roller blades! Goku-ojiichan and Vegeta-ojiichan are the best!"

An hour later, Goten bounded downstairs with all the glee of a small child. "Meri Kurisumasu, chibis!" He looked around the room, unsure of where to start. "Damn, there's a lot of stuff in here."

Pan smiled sweetly at him. "Don't curse in front of me, Goten-ojichan. Papa gets upset."

"Yeah, we don't need him any angrier than he is already."

"You heard him, then," Bra sighed.

Her niichan nodded. "Who didn't? I'm sure he woke people three towns over."

The youngest Son cocked her head to the side. "What are you guys talking about? I know that Papa sounded mad this morning, but about what?"

"Trunks and Goten bonded this morning like your ojiichans did."

"Oh... Well, _I_ could have told you he wasn't gonna like it. One time, when he took me to the mall, this guy hit on him."

Bra and Goten stared at her. "Honto?!" they asked in unison.

"Yup. I think it freaked him out." Her fingers paused in untying a bow. "But for a second, he looked a little happy."

"Hmm..." Goten said as he continued searching for his gifts. "That's very interesting."

"My bike! They bought my bike!" Bra wrapped her arms around it in glee. The gift had been placed in the very back behind most of everything. "You wanna go outside and ride around the neighborhood, Pan-chan?"

Pan nodded. "Right after I open the rest of my presents, get dressed, and eat breakfast, okay?"

Her father entered the room on the tail end of the conversation. "You're going to do _what_ right after that?"

"Roller blade with Bra," she answered as she tore into another gift. "My ojiichans bought me a pair for Christmas."

"I can't believe they did that! You're only six years old!" Gohan was already pretty upset with his father and that only served to make it worse. "Give them to me, Pan."

The little girl shook her head and hugged the box to her chest. "Iie! I won't let you take them away!" She ran behind Goten and used him as a shield.

"Niichan," Goten said, "are you taking them away because you really think she's too young, or because tousan and papa bought them?"

"You call him papa?!"

"That's irrelevant!"

His brother turned away. "I don't answer to you."

Goten approached him with Pan close behind. "Let me remind you that this is the same little girl who defended her friends from the sixth-grade bullies, beat up numerous adults in the Tenkaichi Boudoukai, and refused to cry even when she broke her leg falling out of a tree. Pan can handle a little pair of roller blades, Niichan. Hell, this child could probably handle falling off a cliff!

"If it's because of who bought them," -- He stopped a few inches away from Gohan, so close that their noses nearly touched -- "then allow me to remind you that they did it because they care for her. Did you even bother to find out what she likes? Do you spend any time with her at all?"

"Pan knows that I'm very busy..."

He shook his head. "No matter how busy you are, you should always make time for your children. Will you please let her have fun? I know that you really don't want to become kaasan's clone."

Deciding to end the argument, Trunks spoke up. "Neither one of them can ride anything outside because there's about eight inches of snow on the ground and more is on the way."

Bra gasped and ran to the window. "Wow! I've never seen this much snow before!" Pan joined her and, a soon as the two girls were out of earshot, Trunks had a few words with Gohan.

"Please, can you keep your comments to yourself? I don't want to have to go visit you in the hospital because papa beat you half to death."

"Tousan would never allow him to do that to me."

Trunks smirked at him. "You would think that, wouldn't you?"

Goten tried to change the subject. "It was pretty cold this morning when Trunks and I were out there. We actually had to go Super Saiya-jin to keep warm." Unfortunately, it was the wrong topic to change to.

"So I felt," Gohan growled. Trunks blinked at him in puzzlement.

"We all felt your, um, excitement," Videl informed the couple. She had been silently observing the exchange until that point. "Gohan sort of freaked out. He has issues with everything."

"And until he decides to discuss things like an adult, we won't ever solve this problem." Goten turned away and went back to opening presents. "I'm through trying to talk to him." Gohan left the room in a huff and Videl followed, intent on trying to get him to calm down.

The doorbell rang and Trunks went to answer it. "Um, may I help you?"

"Konnichi-wa, Trunks," the man smiled at him. "You know my sister. She left an message on her voice mail saying that she'd be over here."

He stared hard into the stranger's blue eyes and could see the resemblance between him and.... "Is your sister Juuhachi-gou?"

"Hai," Juunana-gou answered. "Though I've never met you before, I knew your mirai counterpart."

"Well, come on in. As soon as papa gets up, he'll be making breakfast.

The artificial ningen froze. "You know, I could have sworn you said that Vegeta would be cooking."

Trunks laughed. "I get that reaction from everyone."

***

After the morning meal, majority of the guests ended up playing outside in the snow. No one knew who suggested it, but it was fun nonetheless. Bra and Pan spent an hour teaching Vegeta how to make a snowman and soon there were a crowd of them in the back yard.

"Hey, that's not your snow!" Marron protested as Trunks took some of the white powder from her area. "I was just about to make a hat!"

"I ran out, okay? Goten stole a lot from me." The next thing he knew, she was throwing a snowball at him. He ducked and it hit Kuririn in the back of the head.

The short man mock glared at the two of them. "Leave me out of your little fight!"

"Gomen nasai, Tousan," Marron said sheepishly. She didn't see the snowball coming.

Trunks burst into laughter as she wiped the cold slush from her face. "Bull's eye!"

She packed another mound of snow between her gloved hands. "Oh, you're asking for it." The teen started to stalk him, carefully avoiding the various snow people around the yard. Letting her snowball fly, she cheered when it collided with his chest. "All right!"

"I let you do that," he told her.

"Yeah, right." She squealed when she felt a sudden frigid wetness down the back of her shirt. "Ack!"

Goten grinned. "Mission accomplished."

"When two people have a mental link, you are _never_ safe." Trunks high-fived his mate and they both did a little victory dance.

"A _what_?" she asked.

He placed a finger to his forehead and then to the younger demi-Saiya-jin's. "It's a bond-related perk."

Goku smiled at them and went back to trying to fix his snowman. "Does anyone know how I can keep his arm from falling off?"

"Kakarotto, I doubt snow can be extended like that unless you turn it to ice."

"But I wanted our snowmen to hold hands," he pouted.

Vegeta felt himself melting into a puddle of goo. Before he could stop himself, he pulled Goku down to his level and kissed him gently.

_"Whoo! I got a public display of affection out of you!"_

_"You make me into a pile of mush, do you know that?"_

_"Hai, but you're _my_ pile of mush."_

Marron watched them, hoping one day she'd find someone to love her as much as they loved each other.

By the time lunch came, Vegeta was wondered if their guests were ever going to leave. He was pretty certain that Gohan would have taken off a long time ago if his wife hadn't talked to him. It was a good thing that he didn't, though, because his new father wanted to have a word with him.

"Let's take a walk," he told the oldest demi-Saiya-jin. Gohan eyed him for a moment before following. "I may not have the perception that your father does, but this is out of his league. He has no experience when it comes to dealing with hostility."

Gohan opened his mouth and the ouji glared at him until he closed it. "Kakarotto's upset because his own son isn't happy for him. Are you aware of how much your words hurt him? I know exactly how much because I felt all of the anguish they caused."

"Say one word and I'm going to hit you." Vegeta said when the young man started to speak again. He stopped and looked him straight in the eyes. "Look, your problem is simple. One: you think that he's betraying your mother by falling in love with someone else. Two: you're insecure in your sexuality so you're homophobic. Three: you don't like me very much and think that Kakarotto shouldn't waste his time. I'm still debating which reason gives you the most grief."

The young man sighed. "I'm going to talk about this with you, Vegeta-san, because I respect you. Both of you are men, correct? What can you receive from an intimate relationship between the two of you?"

"The very same thing you receive from your relationship... minus the kid, of course. You've got to keep one thing in mind, Gohan. We are Saiya-jin and things were done differently on Vegeta-sei."

"You're on Chikyuu, now."

"Hai, but the death of our planet wasn't the death of our traditions. The bond was highly respected for very good reason. It brings two people together to form greatness. Similar to fusion, but completely different."

It was something he'd heard before. "Tousan told me all about it."

"You aren't bonded to Videl.... Is this why you don't understand?"

"I am _not_ jealous!"

Vegeta smiled slightly. "I never said that you were."

Gohan sighed again. "I love my wife, alright? I just wish something as powerful as the bond could exist between us as well."

"You should be content with what you have. Not many people can find true love." His smile grew wider. "I can teach the ritual to you, if you really wish it. Maybe it will form."

"Really?" he asked, completely shocked that the Saiya-jin no Ouji would offer to do something like that for him. "Even after I said all those things about you? Why?"

"You are the son of my mate.... and because I care too much to see you miserable." Gohan stared at him in amazement, wondering if the bond had anything to do with Vegeta's newfound kindness.

"Arigatou, Vegeta....-tousan," he said grudgingly. And the two of them returned to the party.


	10. Part 1, Chapter 10

**A/N:** This is the last chapter of Distant Dreams. I'm taking a short break to finish part two of Age of the Empire. I've been neglecting it for far too long.

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part I: Distant Dreams)**

**Chapter 10**

The holiday season had come and gone, now it was time to pack up the decorations until next time. Bra had mixed feelings about the new year. Oh, she knew that it was a time for new beginnings and fresh starts, but something deep inside of her was twitching anxiously.

"Do you think anyone evil will show up anytime soon?" she asked Trunks as they put away the ornaments. "I've got this bad feeling in my stomach..." Bra looked up at him with worried eyes.

"Listen, Bra-chan, we can handle whatever comes. You're surrounded by many people who will do all they can to protect you."

Nodding, she hugged him. "I know, niichan, but the feeling just won't go away."

Trunks tickled her. "Maybe your stomach's upset because you have to go back to school soon." She giggled and squirmed in his arms. "Are you trying to fake being sick?"

"Niichan! Stop it!"

"Need help, Bra?" Goten asked. Without waiting for a response, he grabbed his mate and held him down. "Go ahead, get your revenge."

She did so with relish until the lavender-haired demi-Saiya-jin's face turned red from laughing so hard. Bra left him gasping for breath on the floor as she finished packing up the box. "Only 358 days until Christmas," she said with a sigh.

"Already counting?" Goten asked.

"Of course I am! I love Christmas. We should start planning for next year since the party will probably be here again." Her face lit up with an idea. "We could have a Halloween Party, too. It'll be great!" Mentally, she did a quick calculation. "Only 302 days until October thirty-first! Hey, is next year a leap year?"

"I have no idea."

"I hope not because then it'll be 359 days 'til Christmas and 303 days 'til Halloween. That's one day too long!"

Trunks chuckled. "Bra, you're something else."

They were completely finished in a few more hours and Bra was utterly bored by then. "Anyone want to play a game with me?"

"We can play Life. It's fun _and_ time consuming." He raised his voice. "Tousan, Papa, you guys want to play a board game with us?"

"Sure!" Goku shouted back. "We haven't got anything better to do!"

"Speak for yourself, Kakarotto! There are millions of better things _I_ could be doing with my time."

Bra pouted. "Onegai, Papa. It'll be fantastic, you'll see."

There was a pause, then the ouji said, "Oh, alright, just get that look off your face before I come down there!"

"What look?" she asked innocently, but stopped pouting nonetheless.

The board was set up on the kitchen table. Bra had the blue car, Trunks had the white one, Goten had orange, Goku had red, and Vegeta was stuck with yellow or green.

"Someone trade me," he said as he eyed the remaining two choices. "I don't like either of these colors." The other players all clutched their tokens tightly in their fists. Not even Goku would trade with him. Vegeta growled and snatched up the green car. "Fine then, I'll use this ugly thing to win the game!"

Trunks smirked at him. "You want to bet on that? 500 zenni says you lose."

His father grabbed his hand hard enough to break something and shook briefly. "It's a bet."

"Okay, put a colored person peg into your car and then we spin to see who goes first." Bra told him as she spun. "I got six."

"Eight!" Goten cheered.

Trunks frowned. "Five."

"Nine!"

The ouji fully expected to get the highest number and gaped in shock when it landed on... "ONE?!" Everyone started laughing and he frowned. "I demand a do-over!"

"No do-overs!" came the simultaneous response.

Goku chose to go to college and everyone went that route... except for Vegeta. "I can't wait until after four years of college to get paid!"

"Are you absolutely sure you want to go straight into a career?" Goku asked him. "I mean, think about what you'd gain by going to college."

"The faster I'm out in the world, the faster I can get rich and win the bet."

"Okay.... Just don't say I didn't warn you."

Goku got a ten on his first turn and landed on "Graduation Day". He drew a Life tile. "Your turn, Goten."

"Six!" He landed on "Study in Europe".

Bra landed on "Job Search". "Papa, when you go to college you get draw three career and salary cards to pick from. More options." She picked superstar and 7,420,379 zenni ($60,000 & £38,123). When she spun again, she landed on "Pay Day".

"Yeah, yeah," Vegeta grumbled.

Trunks landed on "Buy books and supplies." and ended up paying the Bra (the banker) 618,364 zenni ($5,000 & £3,177). Then it was finally Vegeta's turn.

The ouji drew and received artist for a career and 12,367,298 zenni for a salary ($100,000 & £63,553). He spun again and promptly landed on "Pay Day". "In your face!" he told his son as he collected his money.

"Just wait, I'm still probably gonna win. I haven't gotten a salary yet, you know."

"Keep dreaming, boy."

"Since papa has the best salary card, you might not. Then again, he pays the most taxes. If you pick accountant and he lands on "Taxes Due", it all goes to you."

He grinned. "Sugoi."

Goku landed on "Job Search". "I drew accountant, Trunks."

"Oh, please don't choose that one, Tousan!" the demi-Saiya-jin begged. "Salesperson and teacher are really good careers, too."

"Well..." Goku's hand hovered over accountant for a moment just to tease the young man. He eventually chose teacher and chose a salary of 11,130,568 zenni ($90,000 & £57,198) to go along with it. When he spun again, he landed on "Adopt a pet."

"There went the second highest salary," Bra commented.

Trunks let out a frustrated explosion of breath as Goten spun. "ARGH!" His mate smiled when he was told to draw a Life tile.

She smiled as well, but it faded when she landed on her space. "SKI ACCIDENT?! I don't even know _how_ to ski!" But the little girl still deposited the money into the bank.

Her niichan said a quick prayer before he spun. "WRITE TERM PAPER, LOSE NEXT TURN?!"

"That's what you get when you go to college first," Vegeta told him.

"I hate this game!" he shouted.

Goten rubbed Trunks' knee. "Aw, cheer up, koishii. I bet you get accountant on your next turn." Vegeta spun, received eight, and landed on "Pay Day" for a second time. Trunks' face turned red in anger and he opened his mouth to scream. His mate quickly covered it so that the profanity was muffled. "If he doesn't get something good soon, I think he's gonna explode."

Goku won 1,236,729 ($10,000 & £6,355); Goten bought a stock (Vegeta said, "I didn't know we could do that." He responded, "You didn't ask!"), chose doctor for a career, and salary of 8,657,109 zenni ($70,000 & £44,487) ; Bra had to get married and take a Life tile; Trunks lost his turn a turn ago; and Vegeta also arrived at "Get Married".

On Trunks' next turn, when he was _finally_ able to choose a career, he drew everything _but_ accountant. He didn't lose it completely until he drew for his salary. "I have to choose from the three lowest salary cards in the entire pile! That's it, I QUIT!" He stomped upstairs and the next thing they heard was the slamming of his bedroom door.

"Wow, it's only a game," Goten said as Vegeta took his turn. "Hope he's cooled down by the time we leave for the party."

By the time ten o'clock rolled around, they were still playing. Goten was yawning every five minutes, Goku was leaning on Vegeta's shoulder and pushing his car with his fingertip, and Bra had fallen asleep on the floor. "This game takes _way_ too long," Goten said as if the other players didn't know. He glanced at his watch and his eyes flew open fully. "If I don't get dressed now, we'll be really late!"

"This is the most boring game in history," Vegeta uttered as he put everything away. "I officially declare Kakarotto the winner."

The large Saiya-jin grinned and grabbed his mate in a bone-crushing embrace. "Aw, that's so sweet!"

"Kakarotto! AIR!"

"Oops!"

Shaking his head at their antics, Goten went upstairs to change.

***

"The party's at a frat house." Trunks said dully as he stared at the building. "You brought me to a frat party."

Goten was confused. "What's so bad about it? My friend Tsubasa's a member. We have World Literature together."

The older young man shook his head. "You obviously have no idea what goes on inside one of these places. There's gonna be a lot of drunk, loose college chicks."

"So?"

"We're gay, you baka!" he practically shouted. He blushed when we realized that several people heard him. One male student actually gave him a thumbs up.

He shrugged. "Your point? We can just go in and socialize for half-an-hour... I promised him that I would stop by."

Trunks felt weary at mere the thought of fighting off droves of giggling females. He saw red when he imagined Goten doing the same. "But you're a hottie!"

His mate blushed. "Why, thank you!"

"It's not a compliment this time, Chibi. Those girls are going to follow you like lawyers chase ambulances. I don't want to have to end up telling several of them off."

Goten smiled as he pictured a very anime-like catfight over him. "Don't worry about it. I'll be glued to your side tighter than spandex on a fat woman." They both shuddered involuntarily at the imagery. "Gomen, bad choice of words."

Outside, the frat house was a picture of serenity and peace. Inside, the noise nearly broke the sound bearer. There were half naked women being playfully chased by frat boys and cups of beer being passed from where a group of guys were clustered around a beer keg. "That's it, everybody! There's no more beer!" There was a collective groan of disappointment throughout the room. Then the student continued: "Until Brad returns from the store, that is!" Their cheers shook the rafters.

"Thirty minutes," Trunks told Goten.

"Okay! Come on, let's go find Tsubasa."

Wading through the crowds of people, Goten searched for the familiar blue-dyed spiked hair of his friend. Trunks had to all but hold on to his shirt to keep him in sight. "Some party," he commented during the search. Then he stepped in something gooey and looked down in disgust. When he looked up again, Goten was gone. "Oh no."

"Hi," a female voice said from his right. He looked over into the heavily outlined blue eyes of a girl around his age.

Trunks gulped. "Um, hi."

"You're really cute. You want to hang out sometime?"

"I'm sort of looking for someone at the moment," he said as his eyes frantically darted around the room. "Can I take a rain check?"

The girl smiled in a manner that was supposed to be sultry. "I'm sure your girlfriend can't please you like I could."

He burst into laughter and quickly covered his mouth. "Oh really?"

She stepped closer and placed her hands on his face. "Allow me to prove it to you." Just as she moved her mouth closer to his, Trunks ducked and took off in the opposite direction. That caused the girl to fall flat on her face.

"Gomen nasai!" he called back as she picked herself up from the floor and glared at him. He rounded a corner and had a head-on collision with someone else. "Are you alright?" Trunks asked as he helped the girl up from the ugly beige carpet. She had dark hair and brown eyes.

"Hai," she nodded. "No harm done. Were you running from someone?"

He blushed. "There was this girl and she tried to kiss me..."

She laughed. "Oh, she was one of _those_ girls. My name's Arissa, what's yours?"

"Trunks."

Recognition dawned in her eyes. "Hey, are you Trunks Briefs, the _single_ president of Capsule Corporation?"

"Shh!" He gave her a look before making sure no one had overheard. "Don't say that too loud!" Arissa was beyond hearing him, however. All she could see was the lavish wealth she would have if she married him.

Smiling sweetly, she firmly attached herself to his arm. "I have a list of one-hundred reasons why I'm the girl you should marry."

Trunks tried to shake her lose, but she held on more tightly than Roshi to his porn collection. Searching his mind for ideas, he smirked when he found a good one. "Arissa, that girl over there has on the same exact dress as you do!"

"NANI?!" she shrieked as she turned to look. "I'll kill her!" When she turned back to Trunks, he was gone.

***

The house was completely silent with Bra asleep and the boys out. Vegeta and Goku sat curled up on the couch in the living room, both staring deeply into the dancing flames in the fireplace.

"You know, this past month has been amazing," Goku said suddenly. "No other time in my life can compare to it."

Vegeta smiled. "Not even fusion?"

"Okay, so maybe that comes _close_, but only because we became one being." He smiled to himself. "Yeah, that was amazing, too." Goku shifted closer to his mate. "When was the first time you had feelings other than hatred for me?"

It was a very easy question to answer. "The time you spared my life the first time I came to Chikyuu is something I'll always remember. You're the only one I can think of who would do something like that."

The larger Saiya-jin placed his hand over his mate's heart. "I felt it deep inside that you weren't completely evil. Somehow I knew you could reform." He felt silent and simply basked in the warmth of the bond for a while. Then, he asked, "What are your New Year's resolutions?"

"I'm going to try not to be so gruff," he told him ruefully. "Do you know how afraid your midget friend is of me?"

"My _midget friend_?!" Goku asked with a laugh. "Do you even know his name?"

The ouji thought for a moment. "It's Kuririn, right? See, I know it!"

After a few moments of uncontrollable laughter, he wiped the tears from his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Don't ever try to change yourself for anyone, 'geta. I like you just the way you are."

"Kakarotto? What is your resolution?"

There were many things he wanted to happen in the new year, but he only had control over a few of them. "I want to try and fix the relationship between Gohan and I. It's my number one resolution." The tension between the two of them weighed heavy on his heart. He and Gohan used to be close, never before had things been so messed up.

"We've both spoken with him and nothing seems to have changed. Granted, he looked a little happier when I taught him the bonding ritual, but I have a feeling that it will backfire."

Goku sighed. "Is it because he doesn't have enough Saiya-jin blood?"

"Maybe. It could be that ningen just can't bond with us. No matter the reason, he's still going to be pissed at me. That anger might even turn to hatred."

"For tonight, let's forget that the rest of the world exists. It's just you and me." Glancing upward at the wall clock, the younger Saiya-jin smiled when he noticed the time. "May our next year together be filled with good times... and enough strength to handle the bad."

As the bell chimed with the approach of midnight, Vegeta whispered something heartfelt (and foreign) to his mate before they kissed. The guttural words struck a chord deep within Goku's soul.

"What does that mean?" he asked softly.

"Two hearts forever united as one."

They kissed again, both sending up silent prayers to the heavens for a long-lasting relationship.

***

"I cannot believe this!" Trunks grumbled as he tried to get comfortable in the small space. "He brings me to a frat party and two girls try to make me their baby's daddy! I don't want to ruin his evening, by my legs are starting to fall asleep."

_"Where are you, koishii?"_ Goten asked a little worriedly. _"I haven't seen you in forever!"_

_"That's because I'm cowering in a closet, Chibi. It's the only place I found to hide from those girls."_

_"I'm so sorry,"_ came the sympathetic response. _"We we get home, I'll make it up to you."_

He immediately perked up at the words._ "How?"_

_"I'm pretty sure there's some of that massage oil left...."_

The door cracked open and a sliver of light shown through. Goten wedged himself in beside Trunks and closed the door behind him. "Jeez, this place is tiny. We have to practically be on top of each other."

Lavender eyebrows wiggled even though it was too dark for his mate to see them. "That's not a _bad_ thing, you know. Intimate."

"It's a damn closet. Intimate is the only way it knows how to be." They both suddenly heard the party guests counting down outside. "Just a few more seconds until the new year, Trunks. What's your resolution?"

"I want to..." His words were cut off by soft lips descending upon his. _"...make up for lost time. Think of all the years we didn't spend together as a couple."_

_"Mine's not as sweet as yours."_

_"Let me be the judge of that."_

Goten moved away for air and felt a goofy smile spread across his face. "I'm definitely gonna try to get more of these kisses!"

"You nut," Trunks said affectionately. "Hmm, I wonder what tousan and papa are doing for the start of the new year?" Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, they felt two giant ki spikes.

Grinning, the dark-haired young man said, "Does that answer your question?"

"Hai, sure does!"

**A/N #2:** When they played Life, I was actually spinning and moving tokens. Did the same thing with Twister (Once Upon a Dragon Ball, Ep. 30) and Monopoly (I can't remember which fanfic it was.). Hai, Vegeta _was_ that lucky and Trunks was definitely that unlucky. ^_^


	11. Part 2, Prelude

**Disclaimer:** Insert standard one here.

**Warnings:** Yaoi, violence, death, profanity, angst, alternate universe, lime, sap, maybe fluff and OOC. No lemon, though. I don't write them. Badly written sparring matches, battles, and lime. Just can't do them that well for some reason. There _will_ be a happy ending... eventually. I'm not like those people who kill off everyone and leave them that way.

**Pairings:** Goku x Vegeta, Goten x Trunks

**Ages:** Trunks (20), Goten (19), Bra (8)

**Misc Information:** This fic is in three parts (was just going to be two). First off there's a get-together ficcy (or the extended prologue), then I get into the reason behind the title in part two. Three's the conclusion of two (I consider it the extended epilogue). Since I have a lot of other fics in progress, this might be neglected. If that happens, feel free to encourage me to write again. ^_^

**Shameless Plug:** I need more people to review Age of the Empire on Fanfiction.net. Won't go into all of the reasons, but let's just say that I've entered new territory with it. So far it's general :( but that'll change.

**Additional Note:** I have this to say to those who are annoyed by the out-of-character behavior: You were warned. Didn't I, in the very first chapter, state that there may be OOC? Encountering it was a risk you took. Besides, I'm awful at keeping Vegeta in character and thought that it was okay based on the circumstances surrounding said uncharacteristic behavior. To those who haven't been annoyed (and those who are undecided): I appreciate your patronage and look forward to more of it in the future.

**Enter the Nightmare Summary:** Things were mundane for a short while... until people began having nightmares, that is. Secret fears are brought to life in an attempt to destroy the bonds between loves and only one little girl can find the cause.

* * *

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part II: Enter the Nightmare)**

**Prelude**

_Over 3,000 Years Ago..._

Flames engulfed the entire west side of the city and its residents were fleeing in panic. Lemnos had been the seventh to succumb since the start of the demon's rampage on Planet Remnar and there seemed to be no one that could stop him.

The demon's black scaled form stood upon the spire of the Temple of Etha, his deep red eyes surveying all that he had ruined. It had been a good day for death... especially since no one had been expecting it. It had been the day of the Summer Festival, a time that was usually filled with merriment and good cheer. Now, it would forever be known as the day death came to Lemnos.

"You will be punished for your crimes, Nightmare!" A female voice cried from the street below. He looked down and eyed the tiny woman who dared to threaten him. She wore the pristine white robes of a Priestess of Etha and carried a staff with two golden rings on both sides of a vertical star. Her amethyst eyes were narrowed in outrage and her hand clutched the staff in a white-knuckled fist.

Nightmare's lips pulled back to bare his pointed teeth in a grin. In a low-pitched voice he told the priestess just how much he didn't believe her words. "Your numbers may be many, but all of you combined do not possess enough power to defeat me." He leapt from the spire and lightly landed before her. "Allow me to show you just how doomed your people are."

His faith in himself was great, but greater was the priestess' faith in her goddess. Etha had come to her in a vision days before and given her the power to forever seal away the chaos demon known as Nightmare. Extending the star staff, she began her prayer.

"Etha, mother of creation, I beg of thee. Please fill your most loyal servant with the power to bind this demon in Hell for all eternity."

For a moment nothing happened. Nightmare smirked at her attempt to stop him and started forward once more. Then the triumphant young woman began to glow in white light that quickly moved up the staff to gather at the tip of the star. As the demon watched in abject horror, the luminescence flowed from the star staff and engulfed him completely. Screaming in rage, Nightmare tried to fight the holy power and could not.

Raising the staff high, the priestess sealed his fate. "Begone from here and trouble us no more!"

"Nothing can hold me for long!" Nightmare shouted as a gaping portal opened below him. He dropped downward and vanished into it. "You will see! You will all see!"

***

_Present Day..._

For millennia he sat quietly in his cell waiting for day he tasted freedom once again. It was a change of pace from the demon that, for two centuries, paced restlessly and snarled at anyone unfortunate enough to get too close. No matter how docile he seemed to be, however, the dungeon master knew that he would always remain an evil creature and wouldn't trust him not to corrupt an innocent.

Yet the ogres were understaffed due to Enma's budget cuts so he had to station a relatively young ogre beside Nightmare's cell. He had no fear that Ignas wouldn't do his job... as long as the demon remained totally silent.

The young male ogre with the still-bright outlook peered into the gloom that filled the demon's cell. Ignas had heard frightening things from the others about the sole occupant, but never thought he would get the chance to see him in person.

Too bad no one would ever believe it.

Unless... "Um, Mister Nightmare? Can I have your autograph?"

He received nothing but silence for several long moments and Ignas feared that he'd offended him in some way. Then a patch of darkness even deeper than the rest moved and two glowing, blood-red ellipses turned to regard him. Ignas held his breath until the wide mouth bared its white teeth in a semblance of a smile, and by then he was light-headed from a profound lack of oxygen.

"You wish for my signature?" Nightmare asked in a faintly amused tone. "What purpose does it serve?"

Trembling slightly, Ignas marveled at how his facial features seemed to float in an inky sea. "My peers speak of you often... mainly to scare each other."

The creature shifted so that a sliver of light from the single window sliced across his face, illuminating his left eye and nose, but leaving the rest in darkness. "Ah, so my name is still whispered in the night. Good to see that they have not forgotten about me."

"No one could _ever_ forget about the demon who murdered eight million people in one week! You are a legend!" Fear now replaced by captivation, the young ogre all but pressed himself against the cell's steel bars.

"So, you would like to impress your friends? I cannot write, young one, for I am restrained by blessed manacles. Free me and my autograph is yours."

Intelligence warred with want and lost miserably. Ignas pulled a key from his pants pocket and, after looking around to make sure none of the other guards were paying attention, inserted it into the keyhole. With a quiet snick, the cell door opened.

He may not have been smart enough to ignore Nightmare's false gentleness, but he had just enough intelligence to close the door behind him. That would have been enough.... if he hadn't freed the demon.

"Can you make it out to Ignas, your number one fan?" the ogre asked as he unlocked the manacles confining Nightmare's hands. "Better yet, can you call me your best-friend?"

"Oh, I have something quite excellent that I can call you..." The demon stretched for the first time in what seemed like forever. "How about imbecile?"

Ignas frowned. "Hey, that's not very nice."

He flashed a wicked grin. "I'm a demon, Ignas. What else do you expect from me?" Before the ogre could answer (or even blink), a clawed hand shot out and grabbed him around the throat. "I thank you for freeing me, but no one else can find out about what you've done. At least not until after I've had a little fun. Goodbye, Ignas, you've served me considerably well."

As the life faded from his body, the young ogre knew that that he would carry the pain from the demon's betrayal for all eternity. Nightmare, however, would completely forget about the entire incident in just a few hours.

"I will bring absolute terror to the mortal realm once again. Soon, everyone will know the name of Nightmare!" Throwing his head back, the demon let out a full laugh that bounced from the stone walls and caused the other prisoners to quake in fear. A few seconds later, a gateway was created by his hand and the unholy creature was liberated from his millennia-long imprisonment.

  


**A/N:** Hai, yet another ogre has screwed everyone over (see DBZ Movie #12: The Rebirth of Fusion: Goku and Vegeta). Will they ever learn? =) I also lied about finishing Little Child Found first. It seems that this story just won't leave me alone.


	12. Part 2, Chapter 1

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part II: Enter the Nightmare)**

**Chapter 1**

Vegeta had to go over the bonding ritual three times before Gohan was satisfied that he learned it correctly. The young man wanted a bond with his wife too much to screw things up. Late one Saturday night, the couple sat crosslegged in a tent in the forest. Pan was spending the night with her grandfathers.

"Are you sure we can do it this way?" Videl asked. "Goku-san and Vegeta-san, Trunks and Goten all bonded under the open sky."

He took one look outside and involuntarily shivered. "Honey, it's freezing out there."

"Maybe we should wait until spring, then. I'm in no hurry..."

Gohan shook his head. "Don't you want something as profound as the bond?"

"Hai, but I can _wait_." Videl sighed as she saw the pleading look in his eyes. There was no other choice but to give in. "Oh, alright. If it doesn't work, we always have warm weather and full moons."

Her consent unsealed the wellspring of boyish delight that the serious young man often kept covered. Clearing away his thoughts, he sent his senses outward and tried to touch the mind of his wife. There was nothing.

'_Maybe I'm just not trying hard enough,_' Gohan thought to himself uncertainly. Then he nodded. '_Hai, that's probably it._'

He searched again, this time using all the effort he possessed within his entire being. This time he brushed against something distant, but it was nothing he could link with. '_Her mind... Videl doesn't have access to any psychic abilities._' Before he became depressed about the realization, Gohan quickly moved onward to the next step. '_I can accept a bond without a mental link. Seems sort of intrusive, anyhow._' He knew despite his words that things wouldn't be as good without the connection, but he was definitely willing to settle.

"Videl, you can go first," he told her.

She frowned in puzzlement. "That was step one? I didn't feel a thing."

"Don't worry about that."

"Alright...." The young woman smiled. "You've already heard my speech at our wedding ceremony, but I will repeat them again for the sake of this ritual along with a few additions, of course. Gohan, you are the light of my life. I can't imagine my world without you in it. You've given me seven wonderful years and a beautiful daughter who is so much like the two of us that it makes me smile. If, for some reason, we are unable to spend the rest of our lives together, I will always remember the good times we shared and not long for the ones we hadn't been blessed with. Life is so full of unexpectedness that we must live each day as if it were our last."

Most of her words were familiar, but the new ones were equally as touching as the old.

Gohan didn't have anything prepared. There were always his vows from the wedding, but he wanted to say something unique to fit the mood. "We're two of a kind, Videl. A perfectly mated pair. Without you, I am incomplete." '_Short, but sweet._' He was quite satisfied with himself to say the least.

The third, and final, part of the bonding ritual made him blush just by thinking about it. Of course, it wasn't as if he hadn't ever done something like it before (their honeymoon had been fantastic), but a ritual-related joining seemed more intense somehow.

He moved to embrace Videl just as she held up a hand to stop him. "Wait a minute, Gohan. There's something we should talk about first."

"Um, what is it?" he asked, seriously confused.

"I was under the impression that we were going to bond, Gohan. You convinced me that you knew what you were doing. I feel absolutely nothing. Why is that?" Her dark eyes were narrowed and her hands were perched upon her hips.

Chuckling with nervousness, he searched for an explanation that didn't make either of them look bad. "Well, I couldn't form a connection with you, hon. It's not really a big deal. We went a long time without even knowing of the bond's existence...."

"That was before!" she practically shouted. "Now that I know what's out there, I can't be content with a basic relationship."

"You didn't say that before..."

"I was _lying _before!"

His heart began to beat faster. "W-what are you saying?"

"Gohan, I want a divorce!"

He awoke drenched in sweat, a hoarse cry lodged in his throat. For a moment he stared blankly at his surroundings, but soon he could make out the familiar sight of the bedroom he shared with his wife. Videl was sleeping peacefully beside him, completely unaffected by his restlessness. "It was just a nightmare," he sighed in relief. "Thank Kami."

After trying for an hour to return to sleep (and failing), Gohan wandered into the kitchen and made himself a snack. Granted, "snack" isn't what you'd usually call five sandwiches and a pot of tomato soup, but he wasn't an ordinary man. It would have been more but Gohan didn't want to get too full. If he skipped breakfast, Videl would know that something was wrong.

What in the world was his subconscious trying to tell him, anyway? That the bond had no chance of working? Gohan knew, because he was only demi-Saiya-jin, that a link would take tremendous effort unless Videl met him halfway. Trunks and Goten's minds had touched in the middle, each exerting himself no more than he should have had to.

His wife had no psychic ability that he was aware of. In fact, it was an overall rarity in the ningen race. He was just unable to link with an unresponsive mind. Even after coming to this conclusion, Gohan wondered if it would have worked if he'd been born a full Saiya-jin. Did the pure-blooded have an overabundance of psychic ability?

"Iie," he said aloud firmly. "I refuse to let a dream affect me this much. It was a nightmare and nothing more." In fact, he would sent Pan over to the Capsule Corporation and they would undergo the bonding ritual that very night.

***

Gohan's mind was miles away and all those he came across could plainly see it. He made careless mistakes with the paperwork of several accounts and nearly lost the company a few clients. His boss was being pressured by the higher-ups to do something about the sudden flood of complaints, so she stopped by Gohan's office to have a word with him.

"You're off your game, Son," she said bluntly as soon as he'd answered her knock, "and we're close to losing a few major accounts because of that. How long are you going to screw up? Please tell me this is just a one-day-only type of thing."

He wondered for a moment if he should tell her, but then it passed. "You wouldn't understand, Daimoto-sama. Believe me."

The woman shrugged. "Very well. I'm going to let you off for the remainder of the day to fix whatever is going on. Don't do this again on Monday or the board's probably going to make me fire you. Do we have an understanding?"

"Hai, Daimoto-sama. My mind will be on my work after this weekend." Knowing how bad he'd screwed up, Gohan was both relieved and surprised that he still had a job.

Her brown eyes narrowed, but his boss nodded. "Good. Make sure you keep that promise."

As he was driving home that afternoon, Gohan found himself remembering the joy he and Videl had shared in their seven years of marriage. It was enough before... why wasn't it enough now?

"Because I've seen perfection and covet it for myself," he whispered. "I don't think I can be happy with anything less from now on."

***

"Papa," Bra said immediately upon entering the room. Vegeta was doing item number five on the "Top Ten Most Un-Vegeta-Like Things" list: reading. She didn't even wait for him to place a bookmark between the pages, she was so apprehensive. "Remember a few days ago when I asked you did you think there would be more bad guys?"

"Hai," he answered as he pulled her onto his lap. Bra immediately clung to him like a limpet. "Remember when I told you that both Kakarotto and I would die to protect you?"

Making a face, she nodded. "You don't have to be so morbid about it, you know."

The ouji shook his head with a small smile. "Death is a natural part of life, Bra-chan. It comes to all things eventually."

"I know, but you don't have to talk about it making an early visit. _Especially_ when I'm really close to freaking out." The little girl sighed. "My fear is irrational, I think, but how do I get it to go away?"

"First off, where do you get your words from? Second, when your mind realizes that you're safe, then you'll stop worrying."

Bra smiled for the first time in days. "It's the "Word of the Day" toilet paper. Makes anyone sound like a genius." She slid down to the floor and fixed him with a hard gaze for a moment. "I'm taking you at your word, Papa. If you're wrong..."

"Trust me, okay? I should have the whole "fight to win" thing down perfectly by now."

" 'kay, Papa! Ja ne!" She hugged him quickly and ran off to her room to play a game with Pan.

Bra's anxiety was starting to affect Vegeta in the very worst way. He knew that there was very little he had to fear, but that didn't stop the thoughts from invading his mind. What if the worse happened and he died? He didn't want to orphan Bra and definitely didn't want to devastate Goku. His daughter would eventually be able to handle the loss of him.... his mate would not. '_There is too much for him to live for and the bonding withdrawal would drive him to suicide._'

The ringing of the phone drew him out of his thoughts. "Moshi moshi."

"It didn't work, Vegeta." The anger that filled his voice nearly made the ouji cringe. 

"I didn't think it would. "Maybe" was the operative word in my previous sentence. Your hopes were too high." Vegeta then held the phone away from his sensitive ears in preparation for the shouting he knew would come.

"I'M JUST AS GOOD AS THE FOUR OF YOU, IT SHOULD HAVE WORKED!"

He sighed. "I taught you the ritual against my better judgment. There was only a slight chance the bond would have formed. If Videl had psychic powers, or she develops them somehow, it would probably work."

There was a brief pause. "Could I wish for her to have them? Would Shenron grant it?"

"I don't..." He trailed off with the knot in his stomach grew worse. "Don't use the dragonballs for _anything_!"

"....nani?"

"We may need them for something more important than a mental power for your wife." Then he winced when he realized how bad his words sounded. He'd been thinking it inside his head, but that didn't mean his thoughts had to make an exit through his mouth.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

"Damn," he muttered to himself. "Now he's back to yelling again." Vegeta had no idea how to calm the young man down, so did the first thing that came to mind: he hung up on him. "Hopefully he'll wait until tomorrow to come over here."

"Hopefully _who_ will wait until tomorrow?" Goku asked as he entered the bedroom.

Vegeta smiled innocently.... or as innocently as he could manage, anyway. "Oh, no one."

His mate smirked. "I can read your mind, you know." Then he concentrated slightly and his eyes widened. "You insulted Videl and hung up on my son?!"

"Purely accidental!" he protested. "At least, the insult was. I really _don't_ think what he wants is important enough to use a wish for. The boy should be content with what he has."

"I know 'geta, but did you really have to make him mad then hang up on him?" Goku shook his head with a sigh. "Gohan's going to come over here yelling in the morning." He looked at Vegeta with a smile. "Unless you apologize _now_."

The ouji snorted. "Won't matter what I do or say to him tonight. It's too late. Prepare yourself for a round of screaming and profanity because I can give just as good as I get." He reopened the book and found his place.

Goku looked upward with an frustrated expression on his face. "Why can't my family just get along?"

"The ceiling can't answer you, Kakarotto. Believing it can is probably a sign of insanity."

"Argh! Mates!"

Vegeta smiled to himself. "You gotta love us, ne?"

***

The mortal plane had changed very much in the time he'd spent locked away. Before, there had be only one strong enough to defeat him.... now there were five. Killing mass amounts of people would attract attention and then the saviors would come running. Something had to be done to prevent them from answering the death-cries of the fallen... and that something would come in the simple form of a bad dream.

Nightmares held power over people both in and out of slumber. Asleep, the assault of negativity caused your heart rate to rise, your skin to sweat, and sounds of terror to be ripped from your throat. Awake, it weighed heavily on your mind as you went about your day, continuing its worrisome work and keeping you wide-awake for sometimes days on end.

Are there monsters underneath the bed? In the closet? Is the bogeyman out to get me? These are the things a child's subconscious supplies, but an adult mind is usually not bothered by such trivial matters. The secret fears of a man or woman were often far greater emotional burdens.

And there were many to be found within the minds Chikyuu's strongest defenders.

Nightmare smiled to himself as he looked down upon the Capsule Corporation from the roof of a neighboring building. "I will, at last, have my fun."


	13. Part 2, Chapter 2

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part II: Enter the Nightmare)**

**Chapter 2**

Early one January morning, Goten sat at the kitchen table in his new home and came to a conclusion: he was quitting school. He'd followed the advice of Vegeta, given to him secondhand by Trunks, and chose his own path. He saw the benefit of attending college and earning a degree, but it just wasn't for him.

He worried more about his mate's reaction than his brother's. Even though he seemed to support him, Goten wasn't sure if Trunks had really meant what he'd said. How would he feel being mated to someone who didn't seem to have a future?

The light snapped on in the room, momentarily blinding the demi-Saiya-jin. "Chibi, why are you sitting here in the dark?"

"I made up my mind, Trunks," Goten said as his sight gradually returned. "I'm not going back."

It took him only a moment to figure out what he was talking about. "This was the best choice for you?"

"Hai. I think I can get by just fine without higher education." Goten looked down at the table. "I'm not all that smart, anyway."

Trunks sat down across from him, a serious expression on his face. "What makes you think that?"

He looked up with an expression of annoyance. "Don't pretend like I I have no idea what I'm talking about. We both know that it takes me longer to figure things out than it does for you."

"That shouldn't make you feel stupid, Chibi. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Besides, I have a genius IQ so, compared to me, most people look stupid."

Goten glared at him. "That goes a _long_ way towards making me feel better. Thanks a lot, Trunks."

The lavender-haired demi-Saiya-jin (who completely missed the sarcasm) beamed. "No problem."

"Stupid, conceited people," the younger man muttered as he stomped out of the kitchen. "Since you're Vegeta's son, I shouldn't be surprised." He left his bewildered mate behind and went outside to take a walk.

How could Trunks be so insensitive? He'd known for a long time that the older demi-Saiya-jin was often unable to concern himself with other people's feelings or problems, but Goten would have never thought that he was on the list. They had a bond, something so strong it was almost unheard of, yet nothing had changed. "He still doesn't think very much of me."

Unconsciously, he found himself reaching inside his shirt to clutch the solid gold locket Trunks had given him on Christmas Day. There was a picture of the two of them inside with their arms around each other's shoulders, one that had been taken when they were kids. Both boys' clothes were just about torn to shreds from an intensive sparring match, but they were smiling brightly at the camera. Inscribed on the lid were the words "young love".

He'd cried when he saw the photo and engraving, remembering the day it had been taken. It had been when he realized that Trunks did, in fact, love him. At the time he thought it was only brotherly love, but now he knew different.

Even though he hadn't shown it before, Trunks did still love him. He could feel it in his heart. However, loving someone and enjoying their company were two very different things.

Where was all of the doubt coming from? He'd never had any second thoughts about bonding with the older demi-Saiya-jin before, but now...

"Trunks loves me," Goten whispered to himself. "He would tell me the truth if I asked him to. Would I hurt him by doing so?" Ultimately, it all came down to trust. Did he trust Trunks enough to believe that he told him the truth before? "I-I... don't." He frowned, disappointed in himself. "I could try to read his mind and see for myself, but that goes beyond mistrust into suspicion."

Even though he knew that it might damage their relationship beyond repair, his mind would never be at ease unless he was one-hundred percent sure. Sitting down upon a park bench, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

_"What are you doing?!" _he immediately heard Trunks ask him. Goten ignored his question and continued to probe. His mate quickly tried to strengthen his defenses by throwing up shields, but it was too late.

_"You _do_ think I'm wasting my life! How could you lie to me twice, Trunks?"_

_"What could I have told you? 'Goten, you're not smart enough to get a job without many years of education'?!"_ The profound hurt he felt came through the connection, overwhelming Trunks with its intensity. _"You see? I couldn't have told you!" _

_"It hurts because of the lie, not because of what you think. I don't know how I could ever trust you again."_

The heat of Trunks' anger caused Goten to flinch slightly. _"Oh really? Who gave you permission to go through my mind, anyway? You wouldn't have ever found out if you hadn't been trespassing. My thoughts are my own."_ In the midst of his anger, he said something he knew would hurt Goten even more. _"I want it back."_

_"Excuse me?"_ he asked in a shaking voice, hoping that he hadn't heard him correctly.

_"The locket. I want it back."_ Goten saw Trunks slide the ring he'd given him from his finger and drop it upon the desk in his room. A choked sob escaped his throat before he could stop it. _"I don't want this anymore."_

_"Trunks..."_ He received no response; the connection was closed.

Goten dropped his head to his hands, tears flowing freely. "What have I done?"

***

"Chibi, wake up," Trunks said worriedly as he shook his mate. He'd been awakened five minutes before by a combination of heart-wrenching sobs coming from Goten's body and waves of sadness coming through the connection.

After about another full minute of soothing whispers and gentle shaking (during which Trunks was climbing the walls with distress), Goten's eyes flew open. With a flood of tears, he grabbed Trunks and buried his head into his shoulder.

"Shh, Chibi. It was just a nightmare." He softly petted his hair as his sobs slowly faded. "Everything's okay, now. Do you want to talk about it?"

Goten remembered how mistrustful he'd been of Trunks in his dream and shook his head. He didn't want his mate to think less of him.

Still able to sense his anxiety, Trunks didn't want to just drop the subject. Seeing as his mate refused to cooperate, he had no other choice. "Alright. I'm going to make us breakfast, you can come down whenever you're ready."

"Okay," he answered dully as he stared at the wall. With a lingering backward glance, Trunks left the room.

He heard someone pounding on the door as he descending the stairs. "What maniac would go over to someone's house this early in the morning?" He rolled his eyes as he opened the door. "Oh, _this_ maniac."

Gohan glared at him, definitely not amused. "Where is your father?"

"Why?" Trunks was suspicious of the reason behind his visit. His new brother looked angrier than he'd seen him in a long time. "What did papa ever do to you?"

Laughing bitterly, he said, "You want a list?"

Trunks blocked the doorway with his body. "I'm not letting you in here when you're pissed. Who knows what destruction you'd cause!"

"Think you can stop me?" Gohan asked. "You aren't as powerful as I am, Trunks. No one is."

The demi-Saiya-jin knew this, but he wasn't one to back down from a challenge. "You haven't been training lately.... I'm sure you can't live up to that boast." He crouched down and extended his hands. Gohan did the same. "Bring it on."

"Hold it!" Goku interrupted as he came downstairs. "Trunks, let him in."

"But Tousan, look at him!"

His words made Gohan's face turned a darker red color as his anger grew. "Don't call him that! He's not your otousan!"

"Will you shut up for once?! I'm sick and tired this! You've already made your opinion _very_ clear, Gohan. There's no need to constantly force your views on us!" Before Trunks could block or dodge, Gohan's tightly clenched fist made painful contact with his jaw. He staggered backward from the force of the blow and tenderly touched the bruised area. "Oh, that's it."

Goku grabbed him by the arms and stopped him from lunging forward. "Stop it right now! Trunks, leave Gohan and I alone for a little while. Put some ice on your jaw."

"Alright," he mumbled as the bruise began to stiffen up. Trunks was pretty sure that he was lucky it hadn't been broken.

***

"I'm very disappointed in you, son," Goku sighed. Gohan hung his head in shame. Those were words he thought he hoped to never hear from his father. "Don't you know that my number one wish is for my family to get along without trying to kill each other?"

"I wasn't going to kill him," he said quietly. "Just bruise him a little."

"Mission accomplished," the Saiya-jin said dryly. "Look, I understand how you feel. You don't trust Vegeta, or even like him all that much. Are you afraid that he's going to hurt me some day?"

Gohan nodded. "Tousan, he was evil for more than half his life. That's pretty hard to forget."

"Anyone can change if they want to bad enough. Try to get to know him better. I promise that it's worth it." Goku fixed Gohan with a pleading look. "For me."

He gave in. "Oh, alright. I would like for us to get along as well. Just.... Can I tell him off for what he did last night?"

Grinning, Goku nodded. "I'll allow that. He needs to learn tact."

"Um, Tousan? You've been different for a while now and I was just wondering...."

"That's a question for another time," he said quickly. "Let's go surprise Vegeta."

***

Bra was building an igloo from melting snow in the front yard with Pan that afternoon when a shiver went down her spine. She immediately looked upward with an expression of concern on her face. "Did you feel that, Pan-chan?"

"Feel what?" the younger girl asked. "I just feel the wind and the cold."

"Nevermind." Frowning, she went back to her creation.... only to feel the same sensation a few minutes later. Bra's eyes scanned the surrounding area carefully as Pan continued to create, blissfully unaware of the unease her best-friend was experiencing. She could have sworn that she saw a dark spot against the light gray of the sky from the corner of her right eye but, when she turned for a better look, it was gone. Definitely something she would keep a watch on. "I'll be right back, okay? I need to tell papa something."

Her fathers were sparring in the backyard despite the several inches of snow on the ground. For a moment she just watched them go full-out and, again, marveled at how fantastic they looked, before interrupting them.

"Um, guys?" she said tentatively. Between the various battle cries and the shock wave explosions that occurred every time their auras overlapped, her voice was drowned out. Then Bra inhaled deeply and shouted at the top of her lungs. "GUYS, I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU!" Both Goku and Vegeta froze mid-motion and stared at her. "Arigatou," she said sweetly. "Papa, Tousan, I think something's out there. Something bad."

Vegeta looked at his mate who, in turn, concentrated fully on his surroundings. "I'm not getting anything. How about you, 'geta?"

"Nothing."

Dropping to the ground, Goku placed his arm around the girl. "Maybe, because you're so afraid of something bad happening, you're imagining things. Just tell yourself that there's nothing to worry about and everything will be fine."

"I am _not_ imagining things!" she exclaimed. "There was something there! It's not my fault neither of you can feel it." Bra shuddered. "It was awful."

"Can you show us where you saw the evil?" Vegeta asked. He could almost picture the words "the evil" in bold, capital letters.

She led them around the house and pointed to a spot above a nearby apartment building. "Over there. It was like an ink stain against the sky." Of course they went to investigate the rooftop and found absolutely nothing. Bra, certain she'd seen something up there, continued to search for ten minutes more. "It's not here... I can't believe it."

Goku smiled, inwardly relieved that there hadn't been anything to find. He loved a good fight as much as the next guy, but really hated the risk that usually went along with fighting evil. People could only be resurrected so many times. "It's gone, Bra. Now you can relax again."

Looking up at him, she sighed. "I can still feel it, Tousan. Just not in any specific place. Whether you like it or not, we're going to have to fight this thing before it does something really awful."

"_We_?"

"You can't sense it, remember?" She smiled grimly. "I'm like your demi-Saiya-jin radar. Without me, finding the thing would be next to impossible." Levitating slightly above the roof, she started off back towards the Capsule Corporation. "We have to plan."

***

Brother against brother. Mate against mate. If a rift was created between the senshi, then they would be so preoccupied that none would notice the death and destruction that Nightmare would cause -- none who could stop him, anyway. The demon considered it one of his best plans and was just waiting for the right time to strike the Universe's strongest.

There were serious things troubling the mind of Vegeta-ouji, some of which even he had never seen the likes of before. How easy it would be to surface those dark thoughts and cast him into a deep pit of despair. He then would be too afraid to sleep and the deprivation would play havoc upon even a Saiya-jin's system.

How long would it take to have an effect? Days? Weeks? Months? He would wait forever, but didn't relish the thought of doing so. Eventually his opening would come; not even a Saiya-jin could resist the effects that lack of sleep would cause.

Nightmare crouched silently on the balcony outside the room the ouji and his mate shared. With his current method, he'd successfully irritated or worried or terrified three of the Universe's strongest warriors. Now if only he could cause a combination of the three within both Goku and Vegeta.

"Do you really think Bra saw something out there today?" Goku asked as he undressed for bed. "We haven't had to fight anything evil in over ten years."

Vegeta smirked at him. "This is perfect, Kakarotto. Just the thing I need to change the mundanity of my life." He could have hit himself when he realized how bad that sounded. "I also need to discover just when to keep comments like that to myself."

"Your impulsiveness is nice sometimes. This time, however, it really annoyed me." Goku fixed him with a look that caused the ouji's stomach to knot uncomfortably. "Why would the possibility of dying, or having someone that you love die, be exciting to you?" Vegeta opened his mouth and the look became even harder. "If you use that 'we're Saiya-jin' excuse, I'm going to hurt you."

"Nothing's going to kill us because we're the strongest there is! There will be no one else!" Vegeta puffed out his chest in pride. "I worked years on my fighting ability and ki level just to reach a point of security. It has not all been in vain."

Goku shook his head and slipped beneath the covers. "Vegeta, your arrogance is showing."

A pleased smirk. "I know."

The demon felt anger spark in his heart. How dare the little Saiya-jin proclaim that no one was stronger than he and his mate! "Just wait, Vegeta. You will soon meet your better. I guarantee a battle unlike any you've ever fought before."


	14. Part 2, Chapter 3

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part II: Enter the Nightmare)**

**Chapter 3**

'_Where is he?_'

For days he'd been searching and worrying. What could have happened to his mate? He distinctly remembered a promise to remain by his side for the rest of his life and beyond. That the promise had been broken could only mean that....

'_IIE!_'

He believed in the bond, he _trusted_ in the bond. It would have told him that his mate was gone. Hell, it would have told him if he was in trouble! Yet he felt absolutely nothing and was extremely concerned because of it. Again, where was his mate? Why hadn't he come home? Didn't he still love him?

_"I could have told you that he was going to screw you over in the end,"_ a voice whispered in his ear. _"Never, ever trust a goodie-two-shoes. The kindness he displayed was only a ploy."_

_"You are lying to me. I've told you time and time again to leave me alone, but you never listen!"_

_"The truth hurts doesn't it? All of those things he promised during the ritual are nothing but lies; he intended to hurt you all along. Before you kill him, it would be quite enjoyable to torture him first."_

Vegeta carefully considered his words and made a decision. _"What would you suggest?"_

_"You're_ really_ going to listen to me?!"_ The devil hadn't really planned on this ever happening. Quickly regaining his composure, he revealed the number one thing on his list._ "Go after all that he holds dear. That will always be an old favorite."_

_"It may be a favorite, but it's idiotic when it comes to Kakarotto. Have you forgotten that the reason he attained Super Saiya-jin status in the first place was because Furiza killed Kuririn?"_

The chibi frowned. _"You have a point there. Like Gohan, he reaches new levels of power when those he vowed to protect are harmed. Torture only him, then. There is no one strong enough to stop you."_

_"He, himself, is strong enough to stop me. Do you have some sort of plan in mind, devil?"_

_"At this point, the only thing I can suggest is for you find him. You can't sense him nor can you use the bond to locate him. What's up with that?"_

Vegeta beckoned him closer as if he were going to impart a great secret. He moved his mouth so that it was only a few inches away from his ear and shouted, "THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW!"

_"JEEZ!"_ the chibi whined as he rubbed his ear. _"You didn't have to shout."_

_"Stop asking stupid questions, then."_

_"No problem, Vegeta. Look, you know that baka better than anyone, I would think. Where would he go on this pathetic excuse for a planet?"_

_"That lake,"_ he said after a moment. _"It's always been pretty special to him."_

_"Let's go!" _The devil shouted as they both took off into the air. _"We're gonna go kill a baka! We're gonna go kill a baka!"_

Glaring at him, Vegeta charged up a ki blast. _"Stop the singing or else."_

_"Yes sir,"_ he gulped.

Over the towns, cities, and forests they flew at mach speed. Several minutes later they approached the area where the Son family's small house still stood. Vegeta dropped to the ground and decided to walk the rest of the way. '_I have to sneak up on the bastard. Wouldn't be good if he saw me coming._'

Just through a stand of trees he saw Goku beside the clear waters of the lake. The younger Saiya-jin appeared to be staring thoughtfully into its depths. As Vegeta started to move closer, an unwanted being popped into existence.

_"IIE, VEGETA!"_ the chibi angel shouted at the top of his lungs. _"You can't do this! Goku didn't betray you!"_

_"Where is the connection, then? How come I can no longer feel him? Why did he leave me without a word?"_

_"I-I don't know, but hurting him isn't the answer."_

Shoving him aside, the devil glared at him. _"Shut up and get out of our way. You were wrong about him all along, okay? Just accept that."_

He shook his head sadly. _"Iie. If he kills him..."_

Ignoring the both of them, Vegeta marched across the sand. His entire being was focused only on one thing: extracting revenge for all the pain Goku had caused him. He had told him over and over again about the horrors of bonding withdrawal. Luckily that had only been an issue in the first few days. After that, he could no longer feel anything. '_That is what I get for opening myself up to him. I should have known that nothing good could come from it._'

Goku only looked up when the ouji was less than six feet away from him. With his ki suppressed so much, he could barely feel him. "Oh, hi."

The indifference caused Vegeta's right eye to twitch slightly. "What the fuck are you doing here?!"

"Why is it any of your business?" he asked in annoyance. "I came here after you shut me out. Everyone was right about you, Vegeta."

"Right about me?" His voice was very quiet and, now, both eyes were starting to twitch. "Right about me?" Vegeta's voice then rose nearly fifty decibels. "EVERYONE WAS RIGHT ABOUT ME? WHAT ABOUT _YOU_, BAKA? YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING TO THE BOND!"

He rose slowly to his feet. "What in the world makes you think that I've done something? Why would I intentionally ruin the most perfect thing I've ever experienced? Answer this question for me!"

_"Something seriously screwy is going on here,"_ the chibi said needlessly. _"I knew that Goku was innocent of all charges against him!"_ His words weren't heard and the devil casually knocked him into unconsciousness before he had a chance to try again.

_"I'll be damned if I let you ruin the best experience I've had in years,"_ he muttered to the still form._ "Just wish that I had thought of this first, though."_

"So you think I have something to do with destroying the bond, eh?" Vegeta spread his arms open wide. "Come punish me for it. I'm not afraid of you."

Goku rolled his eyes instead. "That's the difference between you and I, Vegeta. You want to go around beating people up for things and I just want to stay away from them." He started to walk further down the shore. "As of this moment we're through. I don't want to see you again."

The ouji's eyes narrowed. "You should have never turned your back on me, baka. I'm not someone you dismiss." In his clenched right first, he created a ki blast. It quickly grew larger and larger in diameter until it completely engulfed his hand. By that time it was bigger than his head. Taking careful aim, Vegeta hurled the deadly sphere of energy. He expected Goku to dodge, and was very surprised when it actually made contact with the larger Saiya-jin's body.

"You make things too easy, Kakarotto," he said as he went to make sure he was truly defeated. "That was almost boring."

Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, the chibi angel sat up. His eyes opened wide when he saw the spectacle before him. _"What have you done?! He was completely innocent, Vegeta! Some external force broke the bond between you!"_

Several steps away from the motionless body, Vegeta froze. "What are you talking about?"

_"I tried to tell you, but this evil one stopped me from doing so until it was too late."_ Shaking his head sadly, he flew over to drop down beside Goku. _"It was so beautiful and now it's gone forever."_

Vegeta refused to believe. "Iie, you're lying. There is no other explanation for what happened; he brought this upon himself."

The devil laughed darkly. _"Oh, that little pansy's telling the truth alright. Even I could feel it. The baka had nothing to do with the bond's disappearance. Neither did you."_ He laughed again. _"I finally got a chance to taste death again! Granted, it was only one guy and it happened pretty quickly, but it was better than nothing."_

The full import of his actions hit him hard. "I-I killed him."

_"You sure did,"_ the angel sighed. _"Are you proud of yourself, Vegeta? He loved you still."_

Sinking slowly to his knees beside the corpse, he started sightlessly at the earth. Did he just do...? "I killed him." Not in a million years did he think the devil would eventually convince him to do the unthinkable. If he had, then he would have never bonded himself to Goku in the first place. Oh, who was he fooling? He knew that was all a lie. "I _did_ know! It had always been a possibility."

He gently rolled his former mate onto his back, hiding from sight the ki blistered and blackened skin. Placing his hand gently against Goku's cheek, he allowed the tears to fall. "There is nothing I can do to make up for this. Even if I somehow wish him back, he wouldn't want to be with me anymore." Throat constricting, he let out a sob. "How could I do this to him?!"

***

"No, no, no, no...." he whispered it over and over again like a mantra, each word gaining both intensity and volume until he was nearly shouting. The sixth time he said 'no', Goku's eyes snapped open. After casting one look over at his mate (who was obviously caught in the throes of a nightmare), he did the only thing he could think of.

He tried to draw him out of it.

_"Vegeta, calm yourself. There's nothing to fear."_ Poking around in his subconscious, he suddenly found himself immersed in the dark images that his mate's mind was creating. He saw him beside the body of, what looked to be,.... himself?! _"Oh, boy. This is some dream."_

"Today I have sunk lower than I ever thought was possible and betrayed the trust of someone who loved me more than anything else in the world. Kami, it's hard to find someone that special." He cleared his throat and got back on topic. "For some reason, I allowed the words of an evil creature to corrupt my soul and fill me with spite. How? That is one question I'll be asking myself forever. Another is: who broke our bond? Maybe the power of it could have saved me from this. I'm guessing it could have since someone saw fit to remove it."

_"You are not to blame, 'geta. This is just a nightmare. In the real world you would never do this under any circumstances."_

Though he could not hear the words, Vegeta still felt the warmth they conveyed. Slowly the dreamscape faded until Goku saw nothing but a gray void.

_"I will stand guard, Vegeta. You will always be safe in my arms."_

He awoke three hours later and Goku, who hardly felt the effects that one lost night of sleep caused, smiled at him. "Ohayo, 'geta. Did you have sweet dreams?"

The ouji frowned as he searched his memory. "You know, I don't remember if I did or not." His mate let out a relieved breath. "How long have you been up?"

'_I don't want to lie, but I don't want to tell him the truth either._' "It doesn't matter," he said finally. "I'll go downstairs and make breakfast for us as you shower, okay?" Vegeta smirked and stared at him until he blushed faintly. "I'll pour us bowls of cereal."

"Good, I'd rather not have to put out a grease fire this early in the day."

"Hey, I'm not _that_ bad!"

"Iie, you're not." Just as Goku started to smile he added, "You're worse." He dodged the pillow that had been thrown at him and went off to the bathroom.

Goku was very happy that Vegeta had no recollection of his nightmare. Based on what he saw, he knew that it would have disturbed him greatly. Who knows what had gone on before he interfered!

He had just finished pouring cereal into two giant bowls (Cheerios for him, Frosted Flakes for Vegeta), when Goten came downstairs. His father hadn't seen much of him at all yesterday and the only thing Trunks would tell him was that "he didn't feel well". "Ohayo, son."

"Ohayo, Tousan," he said softly as he opened the refrigerator for the carton of orange juice. He yawned sleepily as he poured a glass and didn't catch himself before it overflowed onto the table. Sighing, he grabbed a dish towel. "Gomen nasai."

"Are you okay?" his father asked, very concerned over the weariness etched across his face. "Trunks said yesterday that you weren't your usual self."

His eyes opened wide with panic. "What else did he tell you?"

"Did something happen between the two of you?"

Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. "No, but I dreamt that it did."

He went on to describe in detail what had occurred in his dream. By the end of his tale, tears were sliding freely down his cheeks and Goku was grim. "Bra's right, then. Something _is_ out there."

"Nani?" Goten questioned.

"Yesterday, your sister sensed something evil. She's the only one who did." Goku shook his head. "Why does Bra have this special power? It means that when we go searching for whatever it is, she'll have to lead the way."

"How does what she sensed tie into my nightmare?"

His father listened a moment to make sure that no one else would be entering the room anytime soon. "Because Vegeta had one this morning. The emotions I felt from him terrified me, Goten. Never before had I seen a nightmare that awful, not even when I had the fever dreams the heart virus caused. I just don't think it's coincidental. Did you have one again this morning?"

"Hai. It was the same exact one."

"Then we have a problem here." Goku tapped his finger against the side of his face in thought. "Should I warn the others? Or is this something we have to handle alone?"

"What could any of them do? They haven't been much help in the last twenty years, not really. Only we can defend Chikyuu against the people who want to ruin it." Just the mere thought of someone trying to break his and Trunks' relationship made his blood boil. "Divided we fall."

"Exactly," Goku agreed. "This person must think that we're too powerful to defeat as a whole so they're trying to weaken us from the inside out. Now that we know their plan, it should have less power over us."

Goten turned tired eyes toward his father. "I'm going to have the same exact nightmare again and again until we kill who's causing it, you know, and so is papa. Eventually we're going to be too tired to help you."

"Not Vegeta, son. I'm staying awake to keep the nightmare away. Which means that _I'm_ going to be the useless one."

"But you're the strongest and, therefore, the most important!" the demi-Saiya-jin protested. "Without you, we might as well give in!"

He was still determined to do so. "Goten, you don't know what he dreamed. If he remembers it in the morning, then all would be lost for sure. We can't be a good team if he's afraid of hurting me. If I watch over him at night, we still have a chance at winning."

"Tousan, tell me what it was about. Tell me why it could prevent him from fighting to the best of his ability. I don't understand."

"First, you have to promise not to tell anyone. When we have the meeting later, I'll think of something to say."

The young man crossed his heart. "I promise."

"In his dream, Vegeta killed me. I only saw the part where he was cursing himself, but it was enough." Goku sighed. "I know that, realistically, it would never happen, but apparently he doesn't. It's his greatest fear, I believe."

"It was mine, too," Goten said suddenly. His father looked up with an expression of complete astonishment that made him chuckle slightly. "Iie, not that Vegeta would someday kill you, but that Trunks was lying to me. After I decided to quit school, I thought he accepted it too easily. As a matter of fact, _you_ were the same way about it. Why?"

Goku smiled at him. "Son, you're an adult and I feel that you should make your own decisions. It's not my life. Trunks probably feels the same way. Trust in what you have and you'll never go wrong."

An invisible burden was immediately lifted from his shoulders as he realized how much sense his father's words made. "Domo arigatou for telling me that, Tousan. I just didn't realize that was the reason." After that, the conversation shifted to casual chatting.

A few minutes later, everyone else had joined them at the table. Both Goku and Goten were on their third gigantic bowl of cereal and had emptied three boxes each. Vegeta was thankful that he thought to quadruple the weekly grocery order. Who knows what they'd done if there wasn't enough food to feed them!

"Bra, are you planning on doing anything special today?" Goku asked her as she finished her breakfast.

She shook her head. "Not with that whatever it is running around. It might attack me since I'm pretty defenseless."

Trunks blinked. "Am I missing something here?"

"We're being screwed with, boy," Vegeta told him, "and your sister's the only one that can sense the thing that's doing it. We eventually intend to take care of the problem, but first we need to plan. Someone go call Gohan while I talk to Kakarotto." After placing his bowl into the dishwasher, he beckoned for Goku to follow.

***

"I hope you told me the truth, Kakarotto. Trust is an essential part of any relationship." Vegeta leaned against the wall and watched sweat bead on his mate's forehead. "You didn't _lie_ to me, did you?"

"Not in so many words..." he trailed off uncomfortably. "I really don't believe it's that important. Why bother worrying about something that happened in the past?"

Vegeta stood up straight, folded his arms across his chest, and narrowed his eyes. "On the edge of my memory, I remember that little chibi devil saying something to me. I also remember your unmoving body on the ground. Did what I think happen, happen?"

Goku opened his mouth and then realized that the older Saiya-jin would probably know he was lying. '_Trust rears its ugly head... again._' "You had a bad dream this morning and I sent it away."

"You sent it away?" he asked incredulously. "How the hell did you do that?"

"I just entered your mind and calmed you down," he shrugged. "No big deal."

Shaking his head, the ouji placed his hands on his mate's arms. "Kakarotto, you don't understand. It shouldn't be possible for us to directly affect anything in each other's mind. View them, hai. Alter them, iie."

"Why could I, then? Do you know?"

He thought for a moment. "The moon has always been special to our people. It fuels our transformation, it initiates our mating cycle, and it strengthens our bonds."

"Come again?"

"We bonded beneath a full moon, remember? It wasn't usually done what way on Vegeta-sei because, in addition to the fact that Saiya-jin didn't bond often, most were too horny to even consider something as elaborate as a ritual." He smirked very slightly. "We definitely wore each other out afterward. Surprised we were even able to endure it at all."

"Ah..." Goku always blushed when he remembered that night. "What else do we get as a bonus for bonding beneath a full moon?"

"I have no idea, but it'll be pretty interesting to find out." Vegeta's face softened into a smile. "We have the rest of our lives together, remember? I expect that to be a long time. Together, we are an unstoppable force."

"Without a doubt," Goku responded as he leaned down to receive a kiss. At first, the height difference was just plain annoying, but they eventually learned to deal with it accordingly. Nothing would prevent either Saiya-jin from receiving such a wonderful display of affection.

Before rejoining everyone, Vegeta just had to ask one more question. "Did I murder you in my nightmare?"

A brief hesitation. "Hai, but I know you would never do that in the real world. You're afraid of it happening, aren't you?"

"I have an immense reputation for killing people for stupid reasons," he said with just a touch of sardonic humor.

"None of them were as close to you as I am. Look, 'geta, I trust you with my heart, my soul, _and_ my life." Goku smiled slightly. "You're just gonna have to get used to that."

"Gohan's here!" Trunks called from the living room. "Let's get this over with so we can go find that thing!"

They both sobered up quickly at the mention of the evil they would soon have to fight. "No matter what happens, remember that I'll always love you," Goku said seriously.

With one last tender kiss, they went to start the meeting.

***

Large amounts of people packed into a small area tended to excite Nightmare greatly. With hardly any effort, thousands of people could die in one fell swoop. Though it lacked the challenge of killing people in, say, a forest, it provided a quick fix for when the craving was at its worst.

The initial surprise and abject terror were rushes as well. Oh, how Mister Average screamed when he ripped his throat out.

Just how long would it take the warriors to notice? The demon knew that it was only a matter of time, but hoped it wasn't _too_ soon. He needed just a little more time in the world of fear his actions created. Who knew that ningen would be so much fun to play with?

"For a change of pace, I'll allow you thirty seconds to run," he announced to a group of people in the street. The city he'd chosen had boasted a permanent population of 900,000 and an even greater one when you added in the daily commuters. By the time he was through, that number would be one-hundred at best. Hey, he had to allow for the few people that somehow found a way to escape. "If you do not find a good hiding place within that time, I will murder you just as I've done your fellow citizens." He raised his clawed hands and made a shooing motion with them. No one moved an inch. "Oh, come on! You're ruining the game for me!" He caught himself pouting slightly and that angered him. Nightmare gathered his energy and lunged at them with a roar. "RUN, YOU MORONS!"

The entire group of people (all twenty or so of them) took off in the opposite direction as fast as they could. The demon simply watched for a moment before starting off after them. To the few that looked backward in surprise he said, "Did you really believe I would keep my word? How naïve can you get?!"

When the bloodlust was satiated (and all the people he cared to find were lifeless), Nightmare surveyed the damage he'd done. Over a hundred-thousand dead ningen, billions of dollars in property damages.... and all of it confined within that city alone. There would be no warnings for the others. Soon, he would get to experience the sweet taste of shock and horror once again.


	15. Part 2, Chapter 4

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part II: Enter the Nightmare)**

**Chapter 4**

"So, let me get this straight," Gohan said slowly. "There's something out there that wants to do us serious harm, and the only one who can sense it is Bra?" He shook his head. "I find the credibility of an eight-year-old lacking."

She glared at him. "What does my age have to do with anything? I felt what I felt."

"We have more proof than just her word, son." Goku glanced down briefly, unsure of what to tell him. After a moment, he was encouraged by the nods of both Goten and Vegeta. "For the past few nights, your brother has been having the same nightmare over and over again. When you think about this as an individual thing, it's not really that serious. Then you factor in that Vegeta has also been having a reoccurring nightmare and we have a potentially grave situation."

"Is there room to factor me in?" Gohan asked quietly. "I started having a dream on Friday and every night since then. Videl hasn't noticed anything strange yet, but it's only a matter of time. What can I tell her?"

Vegeta gave him a 'that's a stupid question' look. "How about the truth? What is the dream about?"

"We're outside one night and I talk her into trying the bonding ritual. It's a complete failure, of course, and Videl always tells me that she wants a divorce." He tried to shrug nonchalantly, but the gesture was too stiff. "That's what forced me to try it for real; I wanted to prove my mind wrong. We all know how _that_ turned out."

Goten stared at Trunks silently for a moment before relating his nightmare. He ended with, "It doesn't scare me as much as it did before. Tousan gave me something to think about this morning."

"Oh, Chibi," the lavender-haired young man sighed. "I wouldn't lie to you about anything. Besides, I don't really think that I can."

"What do you mean? You've lied to people hundreds of times."

Trunks gave him a look that clearly meant, 'shut up, Goten'. "I think, as soon as I lie, you would know it through the connection. If, for example, I said that the sky was orange, you would know that it wasn't true."

"I would know anyway, bond or not." Goten rolled his eyes. "You've got to do a whole lot better than that."

"Okay...." He thought for a moment. "Let's say that the fridge is almost empty and papa didn't plan on going grocery shopping for another two days. There are two pizzas in the freezer and I found them first. But then you come into the kitchen extremely hungry, as usual. I would give both of them to you."

Goku had an 'how sweet!' look on his face (because, to him, giving away food was the ultimate sacrifice) until Goten shook his head. "No, you wouldn't. Those pizzas would be in your stomach so fast, I would barely get to smell them when you took them out of the oven."

"Pardon the interruption, but what the hell does this have to do with anything?" Gohan asked. Any mention of the bond tended to make him upset. "We're here because we need to stop this new enemy, not because we want to know the benefits of the bond." He held up his hand when Goten opened his mouth to retort. "Moving on. Vegeta, what was your dream about? It may be important to solving this problem."

"Why would it be?" Trunks whispered to Goten so softly that a normal ningen would not be able to hear a sound. "Yours wasn't and neither was his. I think he's just nosy."

"He shouldn't be. Not about this."

"You know about-" He was cut off when his father began to speak.

Vegeta stared steadily across the table at his stepson. "I know that you're trying to find reasons to hate me despite the fact that Kakarotto wants us to all get along. My nightmare might just be the extra push you need."

" 'geta, you don't have to tell him. The content of the dream is irrelevant."

"Iie, it's alright." His dark eyes took on a touch of sadness that caused Goku to wince. "I murdered him, Gohan. If there's anything I fear in this world, it's that I'll lose control of myself and harm those closest to me. Apparently we all had nightmares about what we were worried about the most. In addition to the sleep we would have lost by forcing ourselves to stay awake in fear of the dream, our relationships would have been strained to the point of breaking. I've got to hand it to him; it's an good plan."

"Hai, but not quite good enough." His mate took charge knowing that they would have expected him to. "When we're able to find him, I want us to team up. Trunks and Goten, you're together. We may need Gotenks. I'm with Vegeta, of course, and Gohan does pretty well on his own. Since Bra has to lead us there, and because you really dislike getting involved, I'm putting you in charge of protecting her." He received nods of assent. "Bra-chan, can you take us to him?"

She shook her head. "I feel him, but I don't know exactly where he is. Sometimes his ki shoots up and then it's easy for me to sense him."

"Why does it do that?" Trunks asked. "I can think of a few reasons, but I hope I'm wrong."

"Strong emotions have a way of causing your ki to rise," Gohan explained. "Happiness, sadness, grief, anger, etc. Who knows what it was for him."

At the very same time, Bra and Goku frowned at looked upward toward the ceiling. "Is it the new enemy?" Goten asked. "What happened?"

"I felt a ki spike," the little girl told them. "Can you feel him now, Tousan?"

"Iie, I felt a sudden absence of ki. The ningen on this planet are like background noise to me, but now there's considerably less of it. He must have decimated the population of a pretty large city." His fists clenched automatically, as they always did when a large amount of people lost their lives unnecessarily. "C'mon, let's go."

***

Bra led them to the other side of the world. A few miles away from the city they could see the smoke from many fires rising upward to form a dense gray cloud in the sky. Above it all, balanced perfectly on the top of a flag pole, they saw a form shaping dark energy in its hands. The demon didn't notice the group until they were nearly upon him.

He turned and regarded them with disdain. "So you're what passes for guardians in this world? I must admit that you're not much to look at."

"Looks mean nothing," Vegeta crossed his arms and glared at the beast. "Who are you and why are you here killing people we're just going to have to wish back?"

"I am Nightmare, a chaos demon. As such a creature, it is my job to create fear and disorder." He surveyed the ruined city below him. "I haven't even worked my way up to your largest cities, but here you are. You're much faster than the people of Remnar. It took them months to realize that something was going on." He lightly tapped his chin with one sharp claw. "Hmm, maybe I should blame myself for that. I was a young demon, you see. Quite inexperienced. But I've had a long, long time to plan so nothing will defeat me _this_ time." He grinned widely at them, wicked teeth glistening in the pale sunlight that shone through the haze. "You're welcome to try, however. I do so love a challenge."

"Don't mind if I do." With little effort, Vegeta launched himself at Nightmare and engaged him in combat. Goku just shook his head and joined him, leaving his three sons to gauge the demon's strengths and weaknesses.

Not two minutes into the fight, Gohan grabbed Bra and physically hauled her down to the ground. "If you see someone that needs help go ahead, but don't do anything stupid. Your father would murder me if something happened to you."

"He's now your father too, you know," she told him, eyebrows drawn together in a frown. "Why won't you admit it?"

"Now isn't the time to talk about this."

"When will it be?"

Silently they stared at each other until Gohan sighed and turned his head back toward the battle. "I don't have time for this now, Bra. There's evil to vanquish."

She called after him before the distance became too great. "Things will never get better if you don't let them, Gohan! Putting it off will only make it worse!" There was no sign that he'd heard her so the child could only hope.

As she settled down to watch the battle, she heard a soft mewl from somewhere nearby. Thinking that he, she, or it was in serious need of help, Bra quickly followed the sound to its source. "Oh, poor kitty," she said as she pulled away the debris covering the shaking gray and black tiger-striped kitten. "Did the bad demon scare you?" She received a meow in response and a lick on the cheek with a warm, rough tongue. She sat down against the side of a building and the small animal curled into her lap and began to purr. "I'll take you home and care for you as soon as they beat Nightmare." Based on the way the current battle was going, she had a feeling that it was going to be a very long time.

***

_"This isn't working, 'geta. Time for Plan B."_

_"And what, pray tell, is Plan B?"_ he asked as he countered a slash from the demon's sharp claws.

_"We fall back for now and come up with a good strategy."_ Even before he told him, he knew that it wasn't going to be well-received. _"Trying to overpower him with brute force wasn't the best way to go."_

_"Running can be construed as fear! I am not a coward, Kakarotto!"_

_"Nor are you a fool. Besides, we aren't running. Not really. Let's call this a momentary pause in the fighting."_

"What are they doing up there?" Trunks asked as he shielded his eyes to reduce the glare from the sun.

"I think Nightmare is wondering the same exact thing." Goten watched the demon cast a puzzled look towards the two Saiya-jin he was supposed to be engaging in battle. They'd both stopped and was staring at each other intently. Abruptly, Goku and Vegeta dropped to the ground and turned their backs to their enemy. "What's going on....?"

Vegeta glared at his lifemate. "There's been a slight change."

"What he means to say is that we're going to come up with a plan. When you fight nearly full-out for ten minutes straight, and aren't damaging the enemy, something's wrong."

Trunks covered his mouth to muffle the chuckles, but his eyes displayed his mirth. "You actually got papa to agree to a plan! It's a miracle!"

"Excuse me," Nightmare interrupted politely. "Could you let me know what's going on? If it's not very much trouble, that is."

Goku was the one to respond. "Oh, sure. We're coming up with a way to kill you. It'll just take a moment."

A low, haunting laugh echoed throughout the surrounding area. "You're only wasting your time and mine! I'm immortal, people. I _can't_ be killed! In fact, the only reason I stopped before was because a priestess sealed me away." He smirked at him. "I doubt any of you on this planet possess that power."

Goten sighed. "He thinks right. None of us are in a deity's favor." His eyes suddenly lit up. "Except for..."

"Please don't make me deal with them again!" Gohan remembered clearly how long it took the Kaioshin of the Sword to release his hidden powers... especially since he had goofed off in the process. "That man is insane."

His brother raised his eyebrows at his outburst. "Who said I was talking about you? Tousan's the one they usually ask to save things, Gohan." The young man blushed and inwardly Goten was pleased that he'd embarrassed him.

The large Saiya-jin thought for a minute. "You three distract him while I go speak with Kaio-sama, okay? I don't want him going off to kill more people while I'm gone. Fuse if you think you need to."

"Hai, Tousan," his sons all said in unison. Gohan glared at Trunks, who only ignored him.

Goku brought Vegeta aside. "I know that this goes against everything you are, 'geta, but please don't get involved. If what he said is true, then you would only be wasting energy. If the demon killed you..." He closed his eyes as tears threatened to escape at the mere thought.

"Take me with you," the ouji said. "It's the only way we can be sure. He only has to piss me off, Kakarotto." He smirked slightly. "That's a very easy thing to do."

"Alright, grab on." He touched two fingers to his forehead. "Don't let me down, boys." He received a trio of nods in response and, a few moments later, he vanished.

Trunks nodded to Goten. "Let's do it, Chibi."

They got into position and went through the movements. "FU-SION HA!"

***

"Konnichi-wa, Kaio-sama!" Goku called out as he and Vegeta materialized on the spiritual plane. The round blue man was no where to be seen.

"Don't tell me we have to go look for him," the ouji grumbled. "There isn't time for that!" He turned around and tripped over Kaio-sama who was fast asleep in a lounge chair (as evidenced by the large snot bubble coming from his nose). Only Goku's hand grabbing his shirt kept him from falling.

He grinned. "I knew he was around here somewhere."

More than a little annoyed, Vegeta shook the kaio none too gently. He snorted, rolled over onto his back, and began to snore very loudly. Goku's hands flew to his mouth to cover his snickers while his mate frowned. "Do something, Kakarotto."

So Goku kneeled down beside the sleeping kaio and leaned very close to his ear. Taking a deep breath, he shouted, "WAKE UP, KAIO-SAMA! WE HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT!"

"AUGH!" he screamed in response as he sat straight up. The bubble popped as he turned to regard his one-time pupil. "Ah, Goku. Nice to see you again. Next time, though, could you please NOT WAKE ME UP LIKE THAT?!"

"Gomen nasai, Kaio-sama," he said, one hand automatically moving to the back of his head in the typical Son gesture of embarrassment. "Have you noticed what's been happening on Chikyuu lately?"

He scratched his head and yawned. "Should I have? Everything's been pretty quiet... no one's said a word."

Goku and Vegeta exchanged looks. "He can hide himself from the kaios. That can't be good."

"Why can Bra sense him? I've never noticed anything very special about her until now."

"Rewind just a tiny little bit," Kaio-sama commanded. "Who are you talking about? What's going on?!"

The larger Saiya-jin began to pace uncharacteristically. "There's a demon killing the people on Chikyuu. We didn't notice until Bra did -- she's the only one who can sense him."

"Hmm, that's new. Closest thing to a demon that you've ever had to fight was Majin Buu."

"And Piccolo Daimou. Don't forget about him."

"Hai, but I didn't know you back then." He pushed himself with effort from his seat. "We're going to see the Dai Kaio. He may have answers." Kaio-sama gave them each a look from the corners of his eyes. "I don't think that I need to remind you to be very respectful."

"Oh, we will. Won't we, Vegeta?" Goku gave him a pointed look and the prince shrugged.

"If he doesn't anger me, I won't say anything to anger him." That said, Vegeta was ready to be done with everything. "Where does this Dai Kaio live?"

Kaio-sama frowned at his lack of respect. "Farther than you've ever been allowed to go, Vegeta." He pushed himself up from his chair and motioned to them. "Follow me."

After catching the next flight to the Dai Kaio's planetoid, they walked to the palace and requested an audience with Kaio-sama's superior. They were kept waiting for two hours (during which Goku was visited by several old friends and Kaio-sama was harassed by the still-living kaios) and were very annoyed by the time the ogre assistant informed them that the Dai Kaio would see them. Vegeta gave him a glare that threatened to make him lose control of his bodily functions and strode into the marble hallway.

"Pretentious," he muttered quietly to himself. "As if he's all talk and no action." He easily dodged the blow of reprimand that was headed for his head. "Have you LOST YOUR MIND?!" he asked Kaio-sama, his voice rising with each syllable.

"Have you lost yours? I told you to have respect! Failure to do so might result in him not giving us any information at all!"

Goku turned slightly to regard them. "I would follow his directions, 'geta. I would also not try that again, Kaio-sama. Now, can we all just keep going?"

"Of course." "Whatever." They answered in unison, silently glaring at each other. Then, without anything further, they continued on.


	16. Part 2, Chapter 5

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part II: Enter the Nightmare)**

**Chapter 5**

In a regal, central room of the palace sat a large throne at the end of a red velvet carpet that was edged in golden thread. Vegeta looked around with a critical eye, snorting at the unnecessary grandeur. It was a room to impress people, not one to defend from invading armies. The prince had to admit, though, few would want to attack the Dai Kaio in his own home. To do so was insanity.

There was one problem that complicated things: the person they came to see was missing from the room. All types of people milled around, doing all sorts of different things. Maids cleaned efficiently, assistants talked quietly, and the occasional skilled fighter passed through. The only thing missing was the man of honor.

"Oh, come on," Goku sighed. "We don't have time to waste waiting on you, Dai Kaio."

Vegeta smirked in his direction. "Patience, Kakarotto."

"You know I don't have any of that!"

A side door opened and Dai Kaio stepped through followed by Kaioshin, the highest surviving deity. Both spotted the two Saiya-jin at the same time; Dai Kaio nodding briefly and Kaioshin smiling cordially. The older man went to his throne while the other stood beside him.

"Son Goku and Vegeta-ouji, step forward," an assistant called out at his master's command. They did so, Goku kneeling and pulling Vegeta down to the ground alongside him. "What do you wish to present to our lord and master, Dai Kaio?"

The problem was explained in detail. "So, we have no idea what to do next. I haven't felt this helpless since Majin Buu."

"Hmm," he stroked his long white beard thoughtfully. "Enma contacted me a short while ago and I was informed that one of the evils from the Riger dimension had escaped his imprisonment. We're probably talking about the same demon."

"Riger dimension?" Goku asked.

"Hai," Kaioshin answered, taking over. "This plane, the 'afterlife' as you call it, exists simultaneously everywhere at every time and therefore breaks many of the ningen laws of science. If a person dies, no matter what dimensional plane they once called home, they end up here."

"Wouldn't things get crowded after a while? I mean, aren't there hundreds of different dimensions?"

A smile. "Even more than that. You have to remember that this dimension of the dead is controlled completely by myself and Dai Kaio. We weren't its creators -- the Dai Kaioshin was -- only maintenance men in a sense."

He nodded and asked, "Will you help us?"

"Actually, you should really ask 'Can you help us?' in which case the answer is no." The small purple-skinned man sighed. "Nightmare is immortal and completely invulnerable. To fight him is to waste both time and energy." He held up his hand to stop Vegeta's oncoming verbal assault. "We are immortal, but we also can be killed. Just ask Majin Buu. The Dai Kaioshin, the other three kaioshin, and many dai kaios have been slain by his dark power. Their energy has been woven into the fabric of time instead of returning here. We also cannot interfere with a mortal problem. He poses no immediate threat to us so, therefore, it isn't any of our affair."

" 'It isn't any of our affair'." Vegeta shook his head slowly at their refusal to assist, curbing his rage just barely. "You're fucking deities! Your entire purpose is to take care of the mortals and make sure things run like they should! Or do you only care for them when they're dead? In that case, you'll be receiving a flood of souls very soon."

Goku disliked the response, but could understand the reasons behind it. "Is there a way we can stop Nightmare without having to kill him?"

"Priestess K'sorde used magic," the Dai Kaio informed them. "She sealed him away in Hell. If you could find some way to do that, we'll make sure that he doesn't ever get free again."

"Is she here?"

"Iie. Her race is immortal just as we are. Natural death does not touch them. It's against the rules to cross dimensions, Goku. I'm sorry."

His face was impassive as he considered how many people were going to lose their lives before the entire ordeal was over. "This time, sorry isn't good enough." Without another word, he grabbed Vegeta's arm and they teleported back to Chikyuu.

***

Bra winced every time Gotenks was pummeled by a seemingly bored Nightmare, and covered her eyes when he was knocked out of the sky to form a deep crater in the earth. She knew that no one would be able to kill him and the knowledge came from somewhere deep inside. One would usually be terrified at the thought, but Bra knew no fear. There was always a way to defeat evil and the Z-senshi had dealt with immortal beings before.

The two young men split apart as the fusion wore off and, this time, neither had enough energy to fuse again. Trunks and Goten exchanged weary looks and passed out from exhaustion at nearly the same time. Gohan, who had wanted to stay out of the battle entirely, sighed and prepared to attack.

"I am tired of this farce," he informed the only conscious fighter in the immediate area. "This city is destroyed and its inhabitants are dead. There's nothing holding me here." Behind him, the air rended and separated so that the abyssal darkness of the space between dimensions peeked through. "Catch me again... if you can."

Just as he stepped through the portal, Goku and Vegeta appeared beside Gohan. The three of them could only helplessly watch as Nightmare headed off to ruthlessly murder more unsuspecting people.

"So, what are we going to do?" Gohan asked needlessly. He could see for himself that neither his father or Vegeta had no plan whatsoever.

Goku dropped to the ground and they followed. "What _can_ we do? Nothing we've done so far has harmed him and the deities refuse to help us."

Vegeta spoke suddenly, his hopeful-sounding words surprising the young man. "None of us possess magical ability and we cannot ask the one who originally defeated the demon for help. Yet we have a solution. If only we could find some way to make it possible."

"It's something, Papa," Bra said as she approached them. She held up the kitten who eyed Vegeta and mewed. "I found him over there. Can I keep him?"

"I don't know about that..." he stared at the feline who stared right back. Bra moved closer and brought the kitten a few inches from his face. With a slight movement, a small pink tongue took a slightly rough swipe across his nose. Vegeta jumped, completely startled. "How can something that tiny survive?"

"The same way everyone and everything survives, Papa. By perseverance." She kissed the top of his striped head. "Can I keep Tigger?"

An eyebrow rose. "You named it after that goofy tiger on Winnie the Pooh?" He found himself smiling slightly at the cute picture she and the kitten were making and quickly coughed to cover it up. "I guess so."

After waiting for Goten and Trunks to wake up, they went back to the Capsule Corporation to figure out a way to seal Nightmare away in Hell once more. The other Z-senshi were called but, being well into middle age, none of them could really help with the battle. Only Piccolo was physically able to endure a long conflict.

"Why do these things always happen to _us_?" Kuririn asked no one in particular. "It's like we're being conspired against."

"What do you care? We're the ones who're probably going to get killed trying to save all the ningen on this damn mudball." Vegeta grumbled and began to channel surf. They had all taken seats in the living room, using every available surface; the young ones sat on the floor. He stopped on a news report in a language that he didn't understand, but it was obviously about Nightmare.

Piccolo began translating as a female reporter spoke into a microphone from the helicopter that flew above the rubble that had once been a city. She read from a sheet of paper, her eyes tired and grief-stricken. " 'The beast first attacked a few hours ago for reasons that are still unknown to us. He merely walked through our neighborhood and casually left havoc and destruction in his wake. There were no warnings, no demands; he only grinned coldly as he killed my family, my friends, my neighbors, and people that I had seen daily on my way to work. While it had been mainly adults who had been caught in the living darkness he sent to engulf the panicked masses, many children had been killed as well. He had no preference between young and old, male and female, or any race. It seemed that anything living was fair game.' " The young woman had tears in her eyes as she looked up at the camera. " 'This was written by one of the few survivors who managed to escape the unknown murderer. So far, we have reports that twenty people made it out alive. This number is reported to be out of a grand total of one-million. Death tolls this high have not been seen for, at least, twelve years, since the time Majin Buu completely decimated the population of Chikyuu. Is there someone out there who can save us? Are the brave warriors that fought Cell and Buu still able to defend our planet?' "

Vegeta pressed the power button and the screen went dark. "I find myself feeling uncharacteristically sympathetic."

"I think developing a conscience may be bad for you," Gohan informed him matter-of-factly before rising and leaving the room. There was an awkward moment of silence and then everyone started speaking in unison in an attempt to dispel it. Giving up on his son, Goku sorted through his memories in an attempt to find someone other than Garlic Junior, Bibidi, and Babidi who could cast spells. After all, the former was trapped in his own realm of the dead and the latter two were in Hell.

Bra looked up from where she was playing with Tigger on the carpet beside Pan with a strange look on her face. "I-I don't feel so good." She clutched at her head; it felt as if it would burst from the intense pounding within. Her vision became blurry and she blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear her eyes. "Is Nightmare messing with me?"

Goku gently lifted her and laid her out on the couch. He touched her forehead with the back of his hand and discovered that it was surprisingly cool. "I don't know. What do you think, 'geta?" He received no response. " 'geta?" He turned to look at his lifemate and made a soft sound of concern.

All of the color had faded from his face, leaving it bloodless and pale and his eyes were just a touch wider than usual. Fine tremors shook his body, so slight that they weren't recognizable by anyone without Saiya-jin or Namek-jin vision. Bra reached out with her hand and touched her father. "Papa? Are you alright?" The fear in his eyes was starting to worry her.

"You can't die," he whispered as he moved closer to his little girl. "I won't let it happen."

"I won't... die." Her voice had completely vanished by the last word and her eyes closed. For one long moment everyone was struck with fear, but then Bra's chest began to slowly move up and down. There was a collective exhalation of relief.

Goku lightly tapped her cheeks. There was no movement other than what came naturally from respiration. "She's unconscious, but not asleep."

Just as his heart rate had started to calm, it picked back up again at his lifemate's words. Vegeta stroked his daughter's hair, uncaring of the other people in the room. "Is she in a coma?"

"I think so." He stared at her motionless form from where he crouched beside the couch. "I wonder what's going on inside of her mind."

***

She quietly walked up the deserted street and paused to regard the slightly imposing temple. It was taller than the Lord of the City's three-story house and made of white marble that seemed to radiate coldness. The roof of the temple sloped gently upward and held a small, square tower in its center. The tower itself tapered to a point.

The young woman had been a follower of Etha for over four years, two of which had been spent in training. Yet, no one could have ever prepared her for what was to come.

It was still a mystery how the demon came to inhabit their gentle planet. Had he been drawn there because of their innocence in all things related to strife? Or had he been summoned inadvertently by an amateur wizard's bumbling attempt at sorcery? No matter the explanation, he posed a real threat and would have to be eradicated to preserve their peaceful way of life.

"Is there a prayer room free, Albin?" she asked one the temple guides on duty. There were actually eight people total who provided information about their work and gave tours of the rooms accessible by the public.

Albin was an older man who'd never married or had children, instead deciding to dedicate his entire life to serving his goddess. He looked up from his tightly-clasped hands and nodded. "There are a few remaining just off the eastern hall. These are troubled times, K'sorde."

She nodded in agreement. "This is when we need faith the most. Albin, I intend to do what the others could not."

"Good luck and Etha be with you."

"And with you, as well."

The lobby of the temple was a large, empty space that held little besides chairs for the guides, a table for donations, and a fountain in the center. Mosaic tile in grays and dark blues covered the floor in a pattern so complex that, if viewed from above, would resemble the symbol of the Order.

K'sorde made her way quickly down the long eastern hallway, her sandals making no sound on the highly polished marble floor. After passing four rooms whose doors were shut to indicate occupancy, she came across one that was vacant.

Prayer rooms were little more than small spaces where a devotee could worship in private. On the floor lay a plain pillow for kneeling while a pitcher full of water and a clean glass sat on a small table by the door. She made herself as comfortable as possible on the floor and descended into the trance she found necessary when dealing with a deity.

'_Etha, mother of all, please appear before me and grant me the power I so desperately seek. I know you must be aware of what is happening to my brothers and sisters in the northern hemisphere and, so far, no one has been able to stop it. If this senseless murdering continues then there will be no one left._'

In her mind, the figure of an old woman appeared before her. Her spine was bowed with age and her wrinkled face was gentle. K'sorde immediately knew that this was the form Etha chose to present herself as. '_Many people have prayed to me for the power to defeat the demon called Nightmare, but I have not given it to any. Why do you think I will bestow such a gift upon you?_'

'_I am but a humble priestess, no better or worse than any of your other followers. I could tell you that I would try my best to stop him, but many have probably already used those very same words. Great Mother, you have to agree with me that _something_ must be done. We cannot go on living this way._'

'_No, my child, we cannot._' K'sorde felt a tingling warmth engulf her entire body. It grew in intensity until she felt that she could bear no more and then vanished. '_I have given you what you so desperately sought and will try to protect you as much as I can during your confrontation. Do not disappoint me, Priestess K'sorde._'

Crystalline tears trickled down her cheeks unnoticed. '_Thank you, Great Mother. I will not fail you._'

Slowly she emerged from the trance feeling calm and in complete control of the situation. She knew that the composure was false, but as long as it aided her she could care less. Drinking a glass of cool water, she wondered whether or not she should wait for Nightmare and eventually came to the conclusion that it was best. No one knew where the demon was in-between the scout reports and she could think of no way to find out.

"It's all up to me," she whispered, her voice filling the formerly silent room. "The future of the world is in my hands." The admission only served to make her feel afraid. So much responsibility... K'sorde wasn't one-hundred percent sure that she could handle it.

Then, she thought of Goddess Etha and her heartbeat calmed. If the Great Mother herself considered her an excellent candidate there was no reason for her to believe otherwise.

Three days after Etha blessed her, K'sorde heard from the city guard that the demon was heading in the direction of Lemnos. In her cell, she hastily prepared for the inevitable, conversing with Etha as she readied herself. As she turned to leave the room, she noticed a staff leaning against the wall. It was taller than she was and made of sturdy wood that would not flex between her hands. Atop the staff was a vertical star with two rings on both sides, connected by a strong golden wire that arched over the top. She smiled at the artifact and grasped it firmly in her hands. Only the truly blessed possessed star staves.

There was a light knock on the door before it opened to admit Albin. "K'sorde?"

"Yes?" she replied.

Briefly he looked down at the Etha Medallion clasped tightly in his hands as if trying to draw courage from it. "He is here."


	17. Part 2, Chapter 6

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part II: Enter the Nightmare)**

**Chapter 6**

For a while it had seemed as if she were reading a very good book. Bra had experienced times when she'd been so caught up in a novel that it was as if she were the person in the story. Things were done and words were said that she had absolutely no control over.

But, there was one major difference: she remembered seeing one of the main characters in real life.

Suddenly, it was no longer fiction but stark reality. She was seeing something through the eyes of another living, breathing being; a memory. "What's going on?" she whispered, or at least tried to. No sounds would form other than those the person whose body she was currently inhabiting chose to speak.

She saw the entire battle from start to finish, and saw in detail what they'd already known. The demon had been sealed away by a single devout follower borrowing power from her goddess. Unfortunately, she knew that Dende didn't have that kind of ability to give.

"These are my memories, Bra. This is how I defeated Nightmare on my planet." Everything was whisked away until only featureless darkness remained and the priestess' white robe shone in bright contrast against it. It was as if she radiated light. "I believe I can help you despite what your gods say."

"Really? We have a chance, then?" Bra slowly smiled. "At first, it was like tousan and papa could do anything. They were the heroes and no bad guy stood a chance against them. Then I saw him defeat them and I knew that it wouldn't be as easy as I thought."

The priestess smiled as well. "Anything is possible as long as there is hope. You know, Bra, you're very similar to the way I was as a child. Intelligent. Sophisticated. Inquisitive. Helpful. Kind. I see deep kinship between the two of us and that helped me to make the decision to aid your people." She sat down and patted the space beside her invitingly. Bra accepted.

"After sending Nightmare away, my people lived peacefully for thousands of years. We rebuilt what had been destroyed and regained what had been lost. Then, Etha came to me and said that the demon had escaped from his imprisonment. I admit, after I discovered that he wasn't in our dimension, I was relieved." K'sorde looked ashamed of herself. "I apologize for that. My negativity could have very well cost you, and those you love, your lives. Things often work in strange ways."

Bra waved away her apology. "Your people were hurt by him, it's only natural that you felt that way."

"I see that my estimation of you was very correct," she smiled. "After a short while, I went in search of a mage who could forge a connection between my dimension and yours. It isn't a very easy thing to do and Meilyn wasn't sure that it would work at first, but here I am. My body is actually rooted very firmly to the soil of Remnar while my mind is free to wander."

"How will you help us?"

She sighed. "This is where things become a little... troublesome. I am unable to help you bind him at the moment because your gods discovered and informed me that I could not interfere until the situation was dire. Unfortunately, to them, things can be still salvaged without my help."

Shocked beyond belief, she merely stared at the priestess for a moment. "They really told you that?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Many things come to mind in response to that, but none of them are very nice." K'sorde laughed and Bra soon joined in.

Wiping a few escaped tears from her eyes, the priestess said, "I _will_ help, Bra, but not until an undetermined period in the future."

"I understand. Can you send me back, or wake me up, or do whatever it is you have to do so that I'm out of this place? Papa must be having a heart-attack by now."

"He _has_ been more than a little worried about you. They all have." The robe-garbed form of K'sorde began fading and with it went the sound of her voice. "Just when you think things are hopeless, I will be there."

***

The sun was rising when Bra began to stir. Her head was still pillowed on her father's lap, but no one else was in the room save a deeply sleeping Goku (who was snoring away in a recliner). Everyone else had either gone home to bed or had gone in search of the dragonballs. Her eyes opened and she looked around as much as she could without waking her father. Vegeta slept very lightly, unfortunately, and had started on the rise to wakefulness the moment she first moved.

"Papa," she whispered when he opened his eyes to look at her. They were slightly red-rimmed as if he'd been crying. That was something she'd never bore witness to and hoped that she never had the chance. The mere thought of her strong father crying did weird things to her mind. "Don't be sad. I'm okay."

Vegeta didn't say a word, only gathered her in his arms and hugged her tightly. Bra's eyes widened in absolute shock. They sat there silently for several moments, the Saiya-jin, apparently, regaining his composure. "Bra-chan, I love you. I don't say that nearly as often as I should."

"Maybe I should faint like that more often, then!" she joked, but her grin faded when the serious look on his face didn't change. "You don't need to tell me every day, Papa. I know just by the way you treat me. Now," she rubbed her stomach as she stretched, "how about some breakfast?"

That was when Goku decided to wake up. He yawned hugely and asked, "Did someone mention breakfast?"

"How predictable," Vegeta said with a smirk. Bra started to giggle as she climbed off the couch. She would never get tired of hearing either of them say things like that.

"It's a good question because I'm-"

"We know, we know; you're hungry." This was stated in unison. "When aren't you?"

Grinning, Goku asked, "Have you two been practicing? It's perfect." He scratched himself in places that were vaguely indecent and blushed when he realized what he was doing in front of his step-daughter. "Um, I'm going to go take a shower. Y'know, in the... shower place."

"Bathroom," Bra supplied.

"Hai, there." He blushed again, this time at being flustered, and disappeared from the room.

Breakfast was ready by the time he returned, his face once again a normal color. Bra filled Tigger's food dish and took her usual seat across from Trunks and Goten. "Ohayo, Niichans." Her only response was a duo of tired yawns. She smiled at them sweetly. "Up late last night?"

"Cute, Bra," Trunks answered with a frown. "Real cute."

"Arigatou!"

Vegeta wasn't paying the least bit of attention to the morning banter; he was trying to come up with a plan. Nightmare was both immortal and invulnerable and he'd never fought an enemy like that before. Goku, Gohan, Kuririn, and Piccolo had, a long time ago, but Gohan was the true hero of both battles.

Garlic Junior had wished for immortality with Kami's dragonballs and it made him impossible to kill as well. The only thing that could stop his evil plans was to trap him within his own realm of the dead, an act Gohan performed. He hadn't opened the gateway, merely used it as a tool to save the world.

Who could open a gateway for them? Who had the power to bend the very fabric of time and space itself to their will? "We need a plan," he said aloud, his voice cutting into two different conversations. The four of them fell silent in contemplation.

"I have a suggestion that none of you will like," Bra said. "You want to know what I saw? K'sorde came to me after I watched the battle between her and Nightmare and told me that she would help us." She paused to gauge their reactions and sighed a little at the hope she found there. It would make telling them the next part very difficult. "Unfortunately, the kaios won't let her until it's almost too late."

"That's not so bad," Goku said slowly. "When will things be bad enough?"

Shrugging, she answered, "We have to stall, Tousan. I don't know for how long."

He frowned at the tablecloth. "It's possible to delay him for a day, but any more than that... What did they do when I was coming to help, 'geta?"

For a moment, he was incredibly confused, but the memory of his very first battle on Chikyuu came to him. "After I figured that they were telling the truth, we just waited out on the battlefield. The promise of a strong warrior worked with me, with Cell, and with Majin Buu. I doubt that it will work with Nightmare. The only thing he seems to want is death."

"Okay, then. It's time to talk to Dende."

***

He was waiting for them when they arrived although he didn't budge from he spot where he stood observing Chikyuu. Before anyone could ask, he began to speak about the new enemy.

"I had a brief thought earlier this morning. We had a plan long ago to trap Majin Buu in the Room of Space and Time so that he could never get free. It didn't work for Buu, but I had hope that it would work for Nightmare." Dende turned to look at them, a sad expression on his face. "Do you know how he entered this world?"

"Kaioshin didn't tell us that," Goku answered.

"He opened a gateway between Hell and our dimension then crossed over. The Room would not be able to hold him for very long." He turned back to the slowly spinning planet beneath him, the white swirls of clouds over masses of green and brown surrounded by blue blurred as his eyes filled with tears. He felt so useless and unfit to be Kami. "I don't know what to do," he whispered almost without sound. They all heard him anyway.

Vegeta immediately began to comment in a way similar to how he spoke to the other deities and Goku covered his mouth with his hand. "Do you know anything that can help us, Dende?" he asked. "We need to keep him busy for a while."

"How long of a while?"

Bra answered after thinking for a moment. "About two or three days. We need to convince Kaioshin to let K'sorde help us."

He added more information that just might be able to help. "When Nightmare kills people, he doesn't do it outright. The demon takes his time and turns each death into a game."

An idea formed inside Goku's mind that made his eyes light up. "The world's deadliest game of tag!"

Dende blinked at him, confused. "Excuse me?"

"Hai. Somehow I make him angry and get him to chase me. Then I use my Instantaneous Movement technique so that he can't ever catch up!"

"But you can only teleport to a ki."

"I know. I can tell five or so people to fly out to different parts of the world so I can move to them. That way, Nightmare would spend so much time trying to find me that he wouldn't care about killing more people."

"Much effort will be needed to force his complete attention onto you. What would you have to do to make him that angry?" The last was rhetorical as the young Kami tried to think of a way; he could not. "I saw the fight between you and Nightmare over the ruins of that once great city. You and Vegeta both attacked him with little effect."

"Would you say that he likes a challenge?" Bra asked.

"Well, of course. Why else would he encourage people to try to escape from him?" The mere thought of the cruelty Nightmare had shown to those poor people made Dende shudder.

"If he challenges Nightmare that should be enough to interest him."

He was completely in awe of her words and more than a little surprised. "I never knew that you were such a smart little girl."

She smiled sweetly. "Obviously you haven't been paying close enough attention. C'mon, guys. We have to go follow tousan's plan."

Both Saiya-jin looked at her, eyebrows raised. "We?" they asked in unison.

"Okay, you." She sighed. "When will I be big enough to fight evil?"

Vegeta actually thought about her question instead of just immediately answering, "Never", which surprised her to no end. "Obtain the ability to transform into Super Saiya-jin and we'll see."

"I can still help you now, though. Please take me to see kaioshin. I want to talk to him."

"How can you even hope to change the mind of the most powerful god in existence?" Dende asked her. "Your father couldn't do it and neither could Goku-san."

Bra gave him another condescending smile. "I'm going to present a case to him that he can't ignore." Motioning to Goku, she took a few steps towards him. "I'm ready."

Suppressing his amusement, Goku took her hand and teleported them to the afterlife.

***

She asked an ogre for directions and was led straight to the Dai Kaio's grand palace. There she stood impatiently in the throne room for him to arrive, not even interested in the strange people conversing around her. Eventually, Bra grew tired of waiting. Raising her small voice, she tried to speed up the arrival of the gods. "This is really, really important!" she shouted. "You're taking so long that the ningen might be all gone by the time I get back!"

"SHH!" about ten people said, forefingers placed upon lips. She ignored them all.

"KAIOSHIN!"

A small door off to the right of the throne opened and he stepped through. He approached her, smiling pleasantly. "What brings you here, Bra?"

Blue eyes narrowed. "You know why. Do we all have to die for you to do something to help us? What have we ever done to deserve being destroyed by evil?"

"Nothing," he said. "You've done nothing at all. In this case, the scales of justice have overbalanced and the Universe has been thrown into chaos." He sighed. "We can do nothing. While both the Dai Kaio and I have the power to entrap him once again in Hell, we are forbidden to use it unless we have no other choice. Nightmare does not threaten all of existence.... just the ningen's existence."

Her face turned a deep red color, but she remained utterly silent. Several times she paced back and forth across the shiny marble floor. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet and did not belie the rage she felt inside. "Do you really think he will stop with Chikyuu? He loves killing; it makes his entire world go 'round. From our planet, to the galaxy, to the entire northern section of the universe. Then, because Buu took care of everything else out there, he'll just rip a hole in space and move on to another dimension. Papa told me a story once about Majin Buu. When he was going to rip holes in the fabric of time and space, you panicked. Why? Because it destabilizes everything. Nightmare is fully capable of doing the same exact thing. Eventually, he will do so.

"K'sorde offered to help us and you people won't let her. No one else besides you two have the power to send him back." She stared him directly in the eyes. "Promise me that you won't wait until it's too late."

His warring emotions were written all over his face. On one hand, he was quite ready to abandon the rules set forth by the Dai Kaioshin so many millennia ago. On the other hand, he knew that those rules were in place for good reason. Without them, order would cease to exist.

"I promise on my honor," he said finally, "and, if what you said is true, then her help will come soon."

"Fine, great, okay." She exhaled deeply. "Will you give me a tour? Tousan can't come get me and I need something to do."

"I can take you back."

Bra thought about his offer and then shook her head. "I'm not refusing because I don't trust you. I'm refusing because I don't want them worrying about me. Gohan really didn't want to look after me, I know. He's not comfortable with his new family."

He nodded. "I've seen. He mistrusts your father a great deal despite the fact that Goku trusts him with his life, his heart, and his soul. Gohan was only a little boy when Vegeta first came to Chikyuu, you know. It will take him many more years to forget that what the Saiya-jin no Ouji once was is not what he is now."

"I understand," she told him and she did. Bra didn't have to like it, but she understood.


	18. Part 2, Chapter 7

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part II: Enter the Nightmare)**

**Chapter 7**

Since Bra wasn't on their plane of existence, there was no way to locate Nightmare. Or so they all thought. Fortunately (or unfortunately, as the case may be), news reports started to show up from noon onward. It seems that one family had made it to Gingertown, a city that had been destroyed by Majin Buu before, and the husband had contacted the police on his cell phone. Before then, Nightmare had been careful to keep things quiet as he didn't want people to be aware of his approach. After he realized that everyone knew, he merely pointed his finger and reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble.

No one really knew how he was doing this. He didn't really have ki in the traditional sense of the word so his energy wasn't released in the usual flashy lightshow. Instead he oozed out dark energy that blanketed an area and left it in ruins.

"This is what we're going to do," Goku said to Vegeta, Goten, Trunks, Gohan, and Piccolo. "I want you to fly out to different parts of the world. We have to keep Nightmare busy until we get help. You should also take some food with you because I have no idea how long it's going to take."

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Piccolo asked him. "The plan seems a little farfetched."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure. All I have to do is either make him mad or turn into an amusement." He nodded to them. "Alright, I'll see you later."

Everyone filed out through the front door except Vegeta (who fixed his mate with a hard stare). Goku fidgeted for a few seconds beneath his gaze, refusing to answer his unasked question.

So he questioned him aloud.

"Kakarotto..."

"I _can't_ tell you," he said stubbornly. Then, as almost an afterthought, he added, "I don't want you to be worried." Of course that worried Vegeta even more.

The shorter Saiya-jin gazed deeply into Goku's eyes, a pleading expression on his face. "Onegai, Goku."

He silently cursed before giving in. Vegeta didn't give him that look often (and especially didn't call him by his Chikyuu name). "I'm going to make a deal with him. If he catches me, then I'm going to let him kill everyone else on the planet unhindered."

Speechless, Vegeta could only stare at him. "Are you insane?!" he asked eventually. "You're Chikyuu-sei's guardian, remember? Guardians don't let the bad guys win!"

"Don't you trust me?" he asked softly. "I don't intend on allowing him to catch up."

"He can create portals. What if he can sense your ki?" He appeared to be very close to tying Goku to something so that he wouldn't be able to provoke the demon. "Let me go with you."

"Vegeta, listen to me." He cradled his head in his hands. "I. Will. Not. Die. There's too much for me to live for. If I feel that the situation's getting out of control, I promise that I'll teleport to Kaio-sama. He wouldn't dare follow me there."

He exhaled and let the matter drop. It was difficult, but he trusted Goku enough to believe that he would do all that he could to avoid a truly bad situation. "Ai shiteru," he whispered.

"Ai shiteru, 'geta." He kissed him gently. "This will all be over soon."

***

"What's going on there?" Bra asked with interest when she noticed a look on concentration on both Dai Kaio and Kaioshin's faces. She shifted on the pillow she was sitting on restlessly. After her earlier conversation with Kaioshin, she was allowed into the private chamber where all the knowledge of the universes were kept. Rows upon rows of books chronicling millions of planetary histories rested upon darkly stained wooden shelves, illuminated by light from a hidden source. She desperately wanted to read at least one but knew that it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Besides, the Dai Kaio was giving her warning looks every few seconds.

"Goku is speaking with Nightmare," Kaioshin muttered distractedly.

She waited a few seconds. When no more was forthcoming, she cleared her throat and asked, "And?"

"And he's convincing him that there is more pleasure in playing a game with him than in randomly killing ningen."

"He actually expects that to work?!" she asked him in shock. Then she shook her head and answered her own question. "What am I saying? Of course he does."

The Dai Kaio shook his head. "If he fails..." He inhaled deeply. "If he fails then there is no hope for the people of Chikyuu-sei." Kaioshin didn't say a word, but the frown on his face did grow deeper.

"I have one-hundred percent faith in my tousan," Bra said confidently. "He can do it. Besides, papa's there to help them and they're the perfect team."

***

"Have you found it yet?" Kuririn shouted to Yamucha over the roar of the wind. They'd followed the signal on the dragonball radar all the way to the desert. It was hot, boring, and a fierce wind had kicked up late that afternoon, blowing sharp grains of sand into every exposed body part. Both were clad in the apparel of the region, long flowing robes of light cloth that offered both protection from the sand and sun as well as being loosely woven to promote ventilation.

The two men had been through more than a few difficult challenges while searching for the dragonballs. One had been swallowed by a gigantic pterodactyl, another was buried pretty deeply in an old woman's basement. Kuririn knew that he would always look upon the last in horror. There had been so many cats in the house that he hadn't been able to walk without accidentally stepping on a tail.

Yamucha continued to dig with his shovel. "Iie! There's so much sand that I might be burying it even further!"

"This isn't working," he muttered to himself. The small man checked the radar once again and saw that the dragonball was still in the same place. "I'm going to use ki to move the sand."

"Are you insane?! You might destroy the dragonball by accident!"

"I know not to use too much energy." Kuririn raised his left hand and concentrated. His hand began to glow in a white light that he directed his blast toward where the dragonball was located. The sand was immediately pressed outward by the force and blown into the air around the forming crater. Within the sand was the dragonball.

"Got it!" Yamcha cheered as he flew up to retrieve it. He did a silly victory dance and placed the ball in his bag with the others that they'd collected. "Finally, the seventh ball."

***

Goku found Nightmare in a ruined city. The dust from his destruction still clouding the sky, joining with dark clouds to create the illusion that night had fallen early. The demon sat, legs folded, high above the exact center and didn't move an inch even when the Saiya-jin came to float before him. "I have a proposition to make."

"Speak it," he said quietly. The red eyes opened and were dull. "I grow tired and the game is no longer as interesting as it used to be."

'_Perfect timing,_' he inwardly grinned. "How would you like to play a new game?"

He perked up slightly. "New game?"

"Hai. The object is to catch me before time runs out. I'll travel around the world and, if you tag me before twenty-four hours are up, then I'll let you kill everyone without interference. But if you don't, you must return to Hell." Goku knew that twenty-four hours wasn't enough time, but he wouldn't be able to replenish his energy and Saiya-jin became as defenseless as newborns without the proper amount of fuel.

Nightmare didn't hesitate. So confident was he in his skills that he saw no reason to say no. "It's a deal. When do we start?"

"Now." And with that, Goku touched his fingers to his forehead and vanished.

'_He can't track me,_' he said to himself gleefully. '_Nightmare doesn't have any way to teleport to my location!_'

No one saw him for more than a few minutes, that is no one besides Vegeta. The small Saiya-jin fixed Goku with a stare that caused him to sit down promptly on the soft green grass of the meadow. The ouji sat across from him. "We have things to discuss, Kakarotto."

"Now?" he whined. "You know I _ can't_ do it now. 'geta, I have to save the world!"

"Who the hell cares about saving this shitty planet right now?" Vegeta asked rhetorically. "I care about _you_ and _I_."

"Wonderful time for you to want to have a heart-to-heart chat," Goku muttered to himself sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes heavenward. "Well, I apologize for becoming emotional in times of great stress." His face and eyes then lost all traces of humor. "I don't know what tomorrow will bring and I don't want either of us to die without clearing up a few things."

"We're not going to die."

The carefully blank expression turned into one of great distress. "Neither of us know that for sure! Nightmare is the strongest being we've ever had to face, the one most likely to wipe all of us out for good." He reached forward and took his hands. "I know that I don't have the hope that you do, but there hasn't been a moment when I didn't know that you would do your absolute best. This is no exception."

Vegeta stared at their clasped hands and sighed. "We're neck-deep in shit and sinking fast. Just in case-" His voice hitched and he took a deep breath. "Just in case I don't make it, I want to say that I would have never truly killed you. I felt something even all those years ago, Kakarotto. Something so overwhelming that it frightened me. It still feels that way sometimes, but I can cope as long as I'm with you."

Bringing his hands to his lips, he whispered words into Goku's flesh. "_Mihon yon. Mihon yin. Mihon hielen._" He looked up, a sad smile on his face. "My heart. My soul. My everything." Deeply moved, Goku pulled the smaller man to him and enfolded him into his arms.

"No matter what, I will find a way back to you. I promise."

"And I to you." They each were content to stay in their lover's arms, not caring the least bit about what was going on in the world -- at least not at that very second. In time they would rejoin those fighting for their right to survive, but for now everything was perfect.

Dark, chilling laughter rang out behind Goku. "An hour. Only an hour." The portal closed behind him and he propped one wickedly clawed foot upon a medium-sized rock. "That was hardly a challenge."

Vegeta's eyes communicated volumes of regret. _"I'm so sorry."_

_"Don't be. I'm very happy you said what you did."_ His mind brushed against Vegeta's more firmly and he placed a gentle phantom kiss onto his forehead. _"I need you to tell the others that time has run out."_

His blood turned to ice water. _"I won't leave you."_

_"You will never leave me. I can always feel you in here-"_ He pointed to his head then to his heart. _"-and in here. As long as our bond exists, as long as we love each other, we will never be truly alone."_ Goku released him reluctantly. Vegeta took a few steps backward, never breaking eye contact, before flying off.

He turned to face Nightmare with weary eyes. "Let's get this over with."

A confused blink. "Excuse me? You told me before that, if caught, you would leave me alone! What are you talking about, now?"

"I lied to you." He winced inwardly as he said it. Those were words he thought would never leave his mouth. "I thought that I would be able to stall for a day to give things time to fall into place. We can't defeat you on our own."

"I see," he answered quietly and then he began to laugh. "Do you think that Kaioshin will actually help you people? They have such strange rules there that I doubt they'd help anyone! Your best bet would be to give in and allow me to absorb your strength." He moved forward with amazing speed and cupped Goku's chin in the palm of his hand. "I don't even have to make it hurt."

"Let me go," he told him quietly.

A wider grin. "Make me."

Goku grabbed his wrist and pulled as he twisted around behind the demon. Nightmare went with the movement and put Goku into an uncomfortable position instead. "Nice try, but not good enough. I'm millennia old, you know. You'll have to do better than that to get me." While he was gloating, he failed to notice the charging ki blast. Goku took his free hand and pressed it firmly to the scaled flesh of the demon's abdomen. Ruby-colored eyes widened as the heat seared.

"You- You burned me!" he wailed, pushing the Saiya-jin away to check his wound. The black scales were completely gone and the pale skin beneath was raw and blistered. His face contorted in rage even as the wound began to heal. "I'll kill you for that!"

His eyes were calm and he even smiled a little. "Well, you can try." In pure, unadulterated fury, Nightmare launched himself at Goku and they began to exchange blows.

He only had to occupy his time, give him such a good fight that he wouldn't want one from innocent ningen. Seriously harming him didn't matter nor did killing him. He only had to distract Nightmare effectively. This was something he knew he could do... and could even enjoy. As long as the demon didn't become _too_ serious about murdering him, that is.

"I know what you're doing," Nightmare said in a sing-song tone of voice. He delivered a series of rapid-fire punches to Goku's stomach and knocked him down to the ground. His opponent didn't stay down long and was soon back up to face him within seconds.

The dark clouds that had been gathering since early morning finally began to unleash a storm upon the area. Lightening flashed in the distance, illuminating the people on the horizon. Goku nodded grimly and initiated an attack against Nightmare once again.

One particularly loud crash of thunder caused Goku to look upward at the sky for the briefest of moments. He knew rain was very close to falling and that it could reduce visibility dramatically. While he knew that he would be able to fight even if he were blind, Goku wasn't too sure that Nightmare could. He hoped that things finally decided to go in their favor.

He felt a familiar presence draw closer, one that caused him to feel safer immediately. Vegeta joined him in the sky, joined him in his fight against the demon. They alone were Chikyuu's last line of defense; the gods could not be counted on for help.


	19. Part 2, Chapter 8

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part II: Enter the Nightmare)**

**Chapter 8**

Rain fell steadily in large drops, turning the dirt into mud and soaking everyone through to the skin. Goku and Vegeta faced off against Nightmare, with the silent support of Goten, Trunks, Gohan, and Piccolo in the background. The demon appeared bored with the confrontation as if the people standing before him were of little interest.

_"This is it,"_ Goku said with no anticipation whatsoever. He didn't quite dread the coming battle but nor did he tremble with excitement. Too much was at stake for him to be thrilled, but there hadn't been a time when the good guys lost. He only wished for the entire ordeal to end.

_"Bra hasn't returned."_

_"She will. I doubt we can stall for much longer. She'll get here eventually."_ Bra's arrival would signify the moment that Kaioshin allowed the priestess to aid them. They both knew, because of his fusion with Kibito, that he had obtained the power of teleportation.

He nodded once. _"Let's do it."_ Simultaneously, they launched themselves at the demon and the fight for Chikyuu-sei began without delay.

A few minutes into battle, Kuririn and Yamcha appeared on the horizon. They landed beside the already assembled warriors and silently watched the fight with grim looks on their faces. Nightmare easily dodged every single punch and kick that the two Saiya-jin threw at him, but they could only barely dodge his.

Vegeta, more than a little angry that his attacks were being blocked, powered up the first level of Super Saiya-jin. Goku quickly followed suit.

"What are we going to do?" Kuririn asked quietly, his eyes darting back and forth as he observed the battle.

Trunks looked at him sharply. "They won't fail."

"How do you know that for sure? There's always a first time."

"You better hope that they don't or we're all going to die." Gohan stared up at Nightmare, an unreadable expression on his face. Not for the first time he regretted his decision to stop training. He knew that the power contained deep inside had been enough in the past to tip the scale in their favor, but there was no way he could help them now.

Goku raised his ki to the second level of Super Saiya-jin in the remote chance that he could gain an edge over the demon. He attacked with renewed vigor and a few began to land. '_Why is this happening? I went up to two before and I didn't hurt him... What's different about this time?'_

"How long has it been since you last killed, Nightmare?" Vegeta asked suddenly from behind. The demon spun around to face him, anger in his eyes.

"It isn't any of your business!"

"That long, eh?" He smirked. "You're losing your edge. You can't go very long without reveling in death, I bet. It's a source of power for you. Without it you're weakened."

He glared at him, hatred in his eyes. "You know nothing of what I am."

"I know enough."

Was that true? Could they actually defeat him now? Goku didn't know but he was sure going to find out. He powered up to the highest transformation that he could obtain and silently prayed that it would be enough.

Sensing that there was more to the change than just appearance, Nightmare began to back off in the hope that he could find enough time to create an escape portal. Vegeta grabbed him by his long, sinuous tail and held tight. "Oh, no you don't. You aren't going anywhere."

Nightmare panicked. He didn't want to go back -- there were still many people alive on the planet! In his mind, he quickly ran down his options. a) He could try to fight off Vegeta and Goku. b) He could try to create a portal. c) He could try to force the healing to speed up. d) He could ensure his victory by killing someone. The demon smiled as he considered the fourth option. If he found a good enough victim, the death would give him a large power boost as well as heal all of his injuries. No one would be able to stop him then.

He concentrated until he could see the auras of the people around him. Several of them were filled with a bright white, but only one person's contained more white than all the others. His smile became larger as he stared at him and imagined destroying his perfect purity as if it had never been. Oh, what joy he would receive from snuffing out a spirit such as this!

"Why is that look on your face?" Goku asked, starting to feel uncomfortable beneath his gaze. There was no response, only a larger smile.

Quietly, almost beneath his breath, he began to weave a spell around them that left all in a trance. It took most of his remaining energy to do so, but he knew it would be worth it. Only Goku remained alert and very, very confused. He knew that nothing good could come from it, but knew that he had no chance to stop the demon by himself. Besides, his eyes could not leave the black-scaled form no matter how hard he tried.

In the midst of his chanting, Nightmare unleashed some of his dark energy and sent it to his enemy faster than the eye could see. Like a living wave, it flowed toward him in a loose formation. He saw it coming but couldn't fathom why his body refused to move. His brain eventually sent the command throughout the rest of his body but it was too late. Goku, slow to react, twisted aside to avoid it and cringed when it followed his movement and struck him deep within his chest, narrowly missing his heart.

Nightmare set the rest of them free of his incantation so that they could witness the death of the one they loved so much.

Time slowed and Vegeta felt as if he had forever to catch his lifemate before he fell to the soggy ground below. He released Nightmare's scaly tail and launched himself forward as fast as he could.

It was like a bad dream. His hand seemed mere inches from Goku's body but he just could not close the gap between them. With a burst of speed born of desperation, he grabbed hold of the younger man's arm and brought him to a stop. Time sped up to a normal pace. "Say something," he pleaded, fearing that he'd been too late. "Onegai, Kakarotto."

Goku's eyelashes fluttered for a few seconds before his eyes opened. "I'm sorry I broke my promise."

He brought him close to his body, arms wrapped around his chest. "Don't say that. You didn't break anything!"

"It's okay, 'geta. I can be wished back with Dende's dragonballs." He sighed and shuddered with pain. "Ai shiteru." Then his eyes closed once more and the ouji felt his mate's heart cease to beat.

Silently he dropped down to the earth, Goku's body cradled in his arms. He laid him gently upon the grass and kneeled beside him. "I couldn't stop him," he whispered as he placed a tender kiss onto his cold forehead. His heart and soul felt as if they had been torn into two, half of each dying along with Goku. He could never replace them with anyone else.

Hot tears cascaded down his cheeks and mingled with the still-falling rain. Vegeta looked up to the heavens, emotion welling up from deep inside of him. It grew greater and greater in intensity until he howled his grief at the uncaring sky. The pain of severance was becoming too much. It weighed heavily within his body, making him lethargic and depressed.

There was nothing he could do for Goku now, but something had to be done in retribution for his death. Killing his lifemate and destroying the bond were crimes that _could not_ go unpunished.

"You are dead," he said in a voice so cold that it left all within earshot shivering. Nightmare did not falter. Having regained a lot of energy from Goku's death, he had faith that Vegeta wouldn't stand a chance against him. The small Saiya-jin rose and stalked over to where the demon still floated. He looked upward, eyes hard chips of obsidian ice, and spoke again. "You will pay with your life."

"Promises, promises," he chuckled. "But can you back them up?"

There was no response, only a dark smirk touched his lips. He took one calm step forward, then another, but was stopped by an unusual occurrence.

Kaioshin had teleported in front of him.

The deity kneeled, head bowed sadly. "I am sorry, Vegeta. Nothing I can do will make up for this."

Bra sniffled as she looked over at her step-father's corpse, but then she looked up at her father, hope in her eyes. "There's one thing, Papa."

The kaio nodded. "Hai. I'm going to let the priestess aid you."

He glared in response. "Is it because I'm the weaker Saiya-jin and you're afraid that I'm going to lose?"

"Iie, it's because I waited too long and a wonderful person was taken because of it. He was one of the people I'm sworn to protect."

Everyone fell silent for a long moment while the demon looked curiously on. "K'sorde?" Bra said finally.

_"I am here."_ Her gentle voice, originating within Bra, entered the minds of Kaioshin and Vegeta as well.

"Please help my Papa. He needs it more than I do."

_"I understand. Please place your hands upon your father. It will just take a moment."_

With tears trickling down her cheeks (forming as the stark reality of Goku's death caught up with her) she laid her hands onto Vegeta's abdomen, palm down. There was a great warmth as K'sorde's link with her was transferred. "Get him, Papa," she whispered as she took a step backward.

_"It will take great strength to seal him. Are you prepared?"_

He paused a moment to think back to all the happy memories he'd shared with Goku both before and during their short relationship. It also made him, consequently, remember that Nightmare had prematurely ended his mate's life. "Oh, I'm prepared. I'm more prepared for this than anything else in my entire life."

_"Then we shall begin. Follow my instructions and he will trouble you no longer."_

_***_

K'sorde hummed as she swept the walkway that ran around all four sides of the church. It was easy work that allowed her mind to wander onto more interesting things. She wondered how her brothers and sisters in Ikar fared with the construction of their new school. They had heard nothing from them since late fall, which wasn't unusual since heavy snowfall in the mountains often prevented messengers from heading their way. When the merchants arrived to hawk their wares, all would know that the roads were, at last, clear.

A soft sound caught her attention. Bells tinkled as if moved by wind, but there was none to be had. The priestess cast worried eyes to the sky. Why was Etha visiting her in these times of peace?

_"Be at ease, my child,"_ the goddess' voice soothed. _"Trouble has not befallen your world."_

_"Great Mother, excuse my impertinence, but why have you come? I have never heard of you giving casual visits."_

She chuckled. _"I cannot be angry with the truth. While it is true that Remnar is at peace, another world is not. This world has many defenders, but none match the power of their newest foe."_

_"I assume that this concerns me. Why, Great Mother?"_ She was confused. Of course K'sorde had known that there were more worlds out there than just fair Remnar --it would be self-centered of her not to think so --, but never had Etha spoken to her about them.

_"Their enemy is your own, my child."_

Gasping softly, she covered her mouth in absolute shock. _"You can't mean...?"_

_"Yes. Nightmare has escaped his imprisonment and is currently terrorizing the people on another plane."_

_"They are fighting him?"_

_"With all of their strength, but none can hope to injure one that is invulnerable."_

She was beginning to see why she'd been contacted; someone needed her help._ "I have to seal him away again because they cannot do it themselves."_

_"Yet I cannot help you get there. The highest of the high gods has placed restriction over me, my child. This is something you will have to do on your own."_

_"I understand. There is one I believe who can help."_

Warmth spread throughout her body and she could almost feel the arms of the goddess embrace her. _"You are a good woman, K'sorde. There is a place of high honor for you in the Shining Kingdom when you decide to move on."_

Tears sprang to her eyes. _"I am eternally grateful."_ She felt Etha's connection with her fade, but not entirely. It was a comfort to know that she would be watched over.

The following day, K'sorde packed for her trip into the nearby Khalkilist Mountains. She didn't have many personal belongings to begin with so it took her only ten minutes. After saying goodbye to her friends, she shouldered her pack and, staff in hand, started off to the magician's house.

Long ago, before she had taken the vows of the Church, she lived in a small coastal village of farmers and fishermen in the northern hemisphere. Many of the people there hated change and would rather remain stagnant than to differ in any way. Over time, this mentality grew so terrible that anyone different from the main populace were usually driven from the village.

When she was thirteen, a family moved into the area with their twelve-year-old daughter, Meilyn. All three had dark complexions that lasted even in wintertime. At first the villagers were wary of them, but it eventually faded over time. Soon, the family was as much a part of the community as those who had started it in the first place.

K'sorde had become friends with Meilyn; they had much in common. Soon, the two were inseparable and knew each other so well that they'd begun to finish each other's sentences. However, when Meilyn was fifteen she started keeping secrets from her best-friend and would stay out all night long doing who knows what. K'sorde was worried about her, but could never get a straight answer about what was wrong.

On the night before she was to leave for Lemnos to begin her training, Meilyn asked her to sneak out after dark. Despite reservations, K'sorde did as she requested. She had a feeling that the midnight meeting would explain why her friend had been acting so strange lately.

They met in a clearing just outside the village. It was far enough away that the villagers wouldn't see them, but still close enough that they could escape to safety just in case danger decided to find them. K'sorde took a seat on a fallen tree and waited patiently for Meilyn to speak.

"You probably want to know why I've been acting so strange," she said. "Well, mother and father have been hiding things from me. Two years ago something strange happened; I set a tree on fire."

"That's serious, but not serious enough for you to avoid me."

Meilyn blinked confusedly for a moment then laughed bitterly. "No, I did not set flint to striker. I was angry at my parents and found myself glaring at a tree. Then I set it on fire with my mind. That was an evil act, so say the Priests of Mirr. You're destined for the church; I thought that you would hate me."

She rose and went over to her friend. "How could I hate you? You're like family to me."

"My parents didn't tell me that they knew I would have powers. They do, too, but they aren't as strong as mine."

" 'Two mages should never procreate together; to do so is to give birth to a being powerful enough to destroy kingdoms.' It is written in the Mestha, that is true, but the Mirrian priests are notoriously known for misinterpreting the ancient texts." She placed her hands onto Meilyn's shoulders. "You are not evil nor do you have enough unchecked power to kill us unintentionally. The odds of a child being born with such strength is a million to one."

"Thank you, 'sordy," she sobbed in relief. "That had been bothering me for so long..."

The memory always made her both smile and frown. From that point on they'd resumed their closeness, but she hated that it had to come at such a price. Meilyn had been in so much emotional pain that night.

The hike up the mountain was a fairly easy one since she was not an indolent person. It was around noon when she reached the small cottage that belonged to her dearest friend. While they corresponded on occasion, she hadn't actually seen her since two Springs before.

Her friend's face broke out into a sunny smile when she saw who was at the door. She wore a white robe typical of the Mages of Light and the scent of herbs hovered around her. " 'sordy! Long time no see!" She ushered her in. "Sit down, I'll bring out snacks."

Doing as told, the priestess looked around the tidy home. It hadn't changed a bit. Meilyn had an odd sense of style and it was reflected in how her home was decorated. Pale colored curtains clashed with brightly woven rugs and funny little knick-knacks from all over the world lined many, many shelves. K'sorde smiled when she saw the Solstice gift she'd sent to Meilyn last year sitting on the mantle.

"So, what brings you my way?" her friend asked from the kitchen. "I've heard that this year will be a busy one for the Church. Aren't you needed in Lemnos?"

"Etha sent me," she said simply. In a way, that was true. In the many years of Meilyn's life, she had appeared in more than one history. It documented her bravery and power, her willingness to help others, and her tireless efforts to recover what had been lost during the Nightmare Years. Her friend was heralded as a hero of the highest order.

The clattering of dishes stopped and Meilyn looked at her from around the doorway, surprise clear on her face. "She _what_?"

The problem was explained over tea and cookies. The mage had a thoughtful look on her face throughout and was silent long after K'sorde ceased to speak. Abruptly she stood up and went over to a bookshelf. "Where is the book?" she mumbled to herself as she searched. "It should be in there... Ah!"

Hope dawned in the priestess' eyes. "You can really help me?"

Flipping gingerly through aged pages, she answered, "I believe so. There is a spell, seldom used, that the Mages of Darkness often used to visit other planes."

"Why do you have a copy of it?"

She looked over and winked at her with a smile. "For curiosity's sake, of course."

"Of course."

"Here we are." She handed her the book and perched on the chair arm beside her. "Lae's Mind Transport. While not specifically a dark spell, the Mages often used it to learn from other cultures. They have always been more studious than the rest of us. You won't physically be able to travel there, but I don't believe that's necessary in this case."

K'sorde nodded and then began to fidget. She needed to ask the question but didn't want to risk offending her friend. Sighing, she gathered up her courage and asked, "Can you-"

"-cast the spell? Yes, I believe so." She started to laugh. "Oh, don't give me that look. I can't read your mind."

"Then... how?"

"I saw the look on your face and I know you well enough to know that you tap your feet when uncomfortable." Meilyn placed a marker between the pages and rose. "Come, 'sordy. Off to the lab."

***

_"I used a staff to focus my energy, but I doubt that you need something like that. Call for the power, Vegeta. I will transmit your plea to my goddess, Etha."_

He felt more than a little silly praying (Saiya-jin had never been particularly religious), but it would save Chikyuu _and_ stop Nightmare in one fell swoop. "Um, Etha? If you're listening, I need a little help over here."

Covering her mouth, Bra started to laugh a little despite the circumstances. "Papa, you're not being very humble."

_"She is right. Please treat the Great Mother with the respect that she deserves."_

The word humble made him tense up, but he knew that they both made sense. "Oh, alright. Etha, please give me the power to get rid of Nightmare. He killed my mate, as well as a large group of other people, so he needs to be dealt with."

K'sorde sighed. _"Is that the best you can do?"_

"Hai. I do have my pride, you know."

_"Very well. It will just take a moment."_

They began to wait.

Several moments went by, the onlookers growing more nervous by the second. Yamucha and Kuririn could hear nothing of what the small group was saying despite having moved closer when Goku's body was placed on the ground and was wondering just why Vegeta decided not to fight.

"Is he afraid of him?" Yamucha asked, secretly pleased that it may be the case. It was pretty bad that he had to discover it when he did, though. If it was true, then he wouldn't be living much longer.

Gohan glared at him and the older man shrank backward a little. "I may not like him, but you can always count on Vegeta's courage. He's waiting on divine assistance."

They exchanged looks and exclaimed, "VEGETA?!"

"Yes, 'Vegeta'," Trunks frowned. "What part of, 'He's trying to help us' don't you understand?"

Goten looked at him with a sad smile. "Let it go, Trunks. You know in your heart that he's a good person, and so do I. Who cares what everyone else thinks?"

Movement caught their attention as Vegeta abruptly lifted his head to the sky. They saw him nod and then he was engulfed in white light, the purest any of them had ever seen other than in dearly departed Goku's aura. He pointed his index finger at Nightmare's body and concentrated. Only the Saiya-jin and Piccolo heard his next words. "Return to Hell where you belong!"

Ruby-colored eyes opened wide in shock. "No! You won't do this to me again, Priestess!" He turned to fly away, but the holy light struck lightening quick. It wrapped around his body and restrained him in shining purity. A small hole about the size of a dinner plate opened below him, one that quickly grew so large that the Capsule Corporation in it's entirety could fit through. It did not touch the ground but hovered between the demon and his almost-victims. Darkness as deep as starless space swirled on the other side of the hole and appeared to be sucking the demon down into it. He struggled, thrashing around frantically, but Etha's power refused to relinquish its hold. "No! No! NO!" He disappeared completely within the portal, still screaming protests. It closed behind him so completely that no sign remained.

All was silent for quite some time as if they expected Nightmare to return at any moment. Then Kaioshin sighed and bowed to Vegeta. "I have things to attend to. I give you my word that he will trouble you no longer."

Vegeta nodded absently as he silently stared at his mate's body. During the excitement of the final battle, he had almost forgotten that he was dead. He'd even half expected to see Goku grinning at him as the demon vanished. But now that there was nothing to distract him, the pain of loss once again made its presence known. "Where are the dragonballs?" he said hoarsely.

Kuririn and Yamucha exchanged glances, but neither answered. Seeing the proud Saiya-jin no Ouji in such a state shocked them nearly beyond belief. When no response was forthcoming, he asked again with an accompanying glare.

"Backpack," the short ningen stuttered. He was still very much terrified of Vegeta. He slipped the straps from his shoulders, and offered the black bag to the older man. "H-here." There were only about ten feet separating the two, but it was land that Kuririn was unwilling to cross. With a roll of his eyes, Yamucha took the pack from him and handed it to the distraught prince.

Vegeta grasped it tightly in his hands for a moment before removing the dragonballs. He smiled to himself slightly as he thought of Goku alive and well once more. "Soon, koibito," he whispered. "Soon."

**A/N:** Hai, I'm stopping here =). Stay tuned for part three. It's coming to a monitor near you sometime this year.


	20. Part 3, Chapter 1 teaser

**Just a Nightmare  
(Part III: Slumber of the Dead)**

**Teaser from Chapter 1**

"Arise, Shenron, and grant my wishes!"

The sinuous serpentine form of the Eternal Dragon formed of golden light first before solidifying into green scaled flesh. He stared down at them, ruby red eyes fathomless. "Speak your first wish."

Vegeta, with forced calm, commanded, "I wish that Son Goku be brought back to life."

Shenron's eyes glowed for a moment and everyone held their breath. "The one you call Son Goku cannot be resurrected."

"Why the hell not?!" the ouji shouted as everyone else gasped in surprise.

"His soul is beyond my reach, therefore I cannot resurrect him. Choose another wish."

He was deaf to anything else said beyond that moment. His brain focused itself completely on the words "cannot resurrect him". Why? What was preventing Shenron from granting his wish? Doubts filled his mind. What if his mate didn't want to return to him? What if he was happier being dead? "Iie, I refuse to believe that."

_"But what if?"_ a seductive voice whispered in his ear._ "I've told you time and time again that he doesn't really love you."_

_"You are just a lingering doubt that nags me when I spend to much time thinking."_

_"If you truly believed that he was yours I would not exist at all."_

Vegeta clenched his eyes shut and clamped his hands over his ears. _"Leave me alone!"_

_"The truth hurts, doesn't it? You do not believe that he wants to stay with you for all eternity."_

_"SHUT UP!"_

The voice laughed, mocking him unmercifully. _"My name's Vegeta no Ouji and no one stays with me. My father and mother both left me, my first mate left me, and now my one true love. Oh, boo hoo."_

"Stop it now!" he shouted aloud. Kuririn stopped mid-word in his wish and turned to stare at him along with everyone else. He blinked and carefully schooled his face into one of impassiveness. One by one the rest returned their attention to Shenron until only Bra's eyes remained on the ouji. She alone saw his clenched jaw and tightly balled fists. She alone saw the pain and anguish in his eyes. With maturity beyond her years, she spoke to him.

"Go, Papa," she said quietly. "Go to tousan." She knew that he would never be happy otherwise.

With a nod and a kiss on the top of her head, he launched himself upward and off to a place where he could be alone.


End file.
